


Journey of a lifetime

by Meatbunattack



Category: Dragon Quest Builders (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, It's the whole game, So this is kind of a story summary of the whole game, Spoilers, cause I imagine things happen ou cant see in the game, just a fun little project I made, with a bit of added scenes for flavour
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2020-10-09 05:10:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20508503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatbunattack/pseuds/Meatbunattack
Summary: We were strangers when we met. Stranded, alone, confused. We quickly became friends through necessity. We became closer through accomplishments. We became almost inseparable through adventures.They didn't know how they ended up on this deserted island, but Robin was certain of one thing. They wanted to help anyone they managed to came across, to spread the power of building to others, and they did just that with their friend, Malroth, in tow. This is how they started to shift the destiny of their stories.A "short" fanfiction which follows the whole story line of DQB2 with a gender neutral builder. Whichever gender you want to see them as is up to you. It's a bit of an experiment for me as a writer more than anything. This is NOT an AU. It will follow canon with a little flavor text thingies.





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> A gender neutral builder's journey with their best friend Malroth. That's what this story is all about and I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE GAME  
This will follow through the whole storyline of the game.  
IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME ALREADY I SUGGEST YOU PLAY IT FIRST. Because the knowledge might be needed to understand it.

_We were strangers when we met._   
_ Stranded. Alone. Confused._

They were looking around the wreckage of where they got stranded, tired from surviving the near death experience they had just gone through. The builder walked around on the sandy shore and as the sun was slowly setting over the sea and it would have been a beautiful scene had it not been for their current predicament. They gathered materials from the sunken ship with their wooden weapon, as well as kelp which they could eat, in hope that they could build a shelter before nightfall to protect themselves from the night time monsters that usually appeared. It was when the builder managed to discover an intact treasure chest that they heard him; a voice not too far away.

“There’s nothing here… the whole place is deserted. Where is this place anyway? How did I even get here?”

The voice was gruff, distinctively male and somewhat aggressively confused in its tone. They weren’t alone here, there was someone else who survived and the thought made a smile spread on the builder’s face. Seeing as they were on a monster ship however, the chances of this person being a monster himself might have been high; but he didn’t have the lisp of those small gremlins nor the clacking of a skeleton, the voice just might have been from a human. They quickly opened the chest and grabbed the kelp inside it to put the food in one of their many pockets; once the builder was finished, they quickly ran up to the mountain side where there was a pile of sand blocking what was hopefully a passage.

They hoped this was a person…

They smashed through the sand barricade with their wooden stick so they could create a tunnel, one which could lead them to the other side of the large cliff that loomed over them. They could faintly hear the voice talk for themselves as they smashed through the blocks of sand one after the other.

“The sky is such a strange colour… Have I died and gone to heaven? Or hell more likely…”

They didn’t care for gathering the materials around them, but instead the builder ran forward to try and see who the voice belonged to, if they were truly alone on this island or if there was someone here with them. Relief blossomed up in their chest when they saw a clear human figure with long spiky hair tied into a ponytail who stood on top of a small cliff overlooking the water. The figure seemed to have heard how they broke through the sand as the male turned around after they had emerged from the small passage.

“Hey Butcher! Who the heck are you?”

The man shouted and ran down the cliff towards them, to which the builder didn’t hesitate to walk forward to meet him with a soft smile on their face. As the man drew closer they took notice of some of his features; muscular chest and arms, an opened purple shirt with a tooth necklace hanging around his neck and orange pants tied up with a sash. This guy looked like a fighter and the fierce, frowning expression affixed to his face only strengthened that attribute. It was somewhat strange that he had pointy ears and black hair that defied gravity with two ‘antenna’ like strands that rose up to curve along his head. But he looked friendly enough, they were just glad that they weren’t alone on this island.

“Finally, a live one! Say, you wouldn’t happen to know how we wound up here, would you?”

Despite not being a person of many words, they nodded slightly and proceeded to explain their side of the story. How they were on a ship that sank and now ended up here on the beach. The man in front of them frowned even further, seemingly confused with a slight tilt of his head while his piercing red eyes looked them up and down. They didn’t have any major injuries, which was most likely what he was looking for, considering their brief story.

“So how come you didn’t cark it too? What’s your story?”

They proceeded to tell him that their name was Robin and how they were an apprentice builder, a happy shine to their eyes as they did so. This man might have seemed fierce but he was very nice, nice enough to talk to them and listen to what they had to say. He seemed confused after their introduction but nonetheless nodded towards them in return.

“Huh, never heard of one of them “builders” before. Congratulations, I guess. Anyway, my name is Malroth. Hey, you want to see something really gruesome? Follow me!”

Robin would rather not see anything too gruesome, but seeing as the male, Malroth, had already run away along the beach. As they would rather not be left alone, Robin had no other choice but to follow him with a small smile still present on their face. They were not alone and they were content with that. To find the small happiness's in life had always been the thing that kept them smiling, and this time was no different.

Malroth showed them the dead bodies of other humans who had washed ashore and seemed very proud of himself for reasons unknown to the builder. Robin looked upon the pale bodies but didn’t outwardly react to it, as death wasn’t anything too unusual for them. They were saddened that more people didn’t survive the shipwreck, but they were certain that the bodies would drift out to sea through the waves soon enough, so the dead could have their burial at sea. Malroth proceeded to joke about their death, uncaring about their situation, and stated that the two of them were the only survivors from the shipwreck.

Confused, Robin told Malroth that they didn’t see him on the ship and that he must’ve come here through different means. Malroth was confused in return and before anything more could be said, one of the ‘dead bodies’ came back to life through a series of coughing. That’s how two became three, how they met the bossy Lulu who wanted things to go her way. Malroth wanted to ‘put her out’ at first, to stop her from screaming but Robin managed to make the girl calm down so Malroth would find her tolerable. However tolerable, the noble-like girl was ungrateful for what was built for her. She already saw everything as hers, and didn’t see much in Robin nor Malroth other than people to do her bidding, but the builder was uncertain if this was her true personality or if she had a second layer beneath her haughty attitude. Robin didn’t mind, as they had worked with worse people in the past; however, Malroth was quite vocal with his displeasure when Lulu was out of earshot, which the builder had to pacify to the best of their ability. They became a trio, a team, despite the slight hesitation shown at the beginning.

Lulu became the planner, or more the demander, as she wanted the best out of their situation. Robin became the builder, the one who followed through with those commands and made the things they needed to survive another day. Malroth helped Robin gather materials for building, smashing up stuff left and right which later gave Robin the idea to make a club for him. A club which Malroth came to adore and carry around with a small, yet happy smile on his face. He tried to build himself but it ended up in a failure despite the fact that Robin helped guide him.

The two of them went off to beat up some monsters Malroth could sense further off, which initiated their first high five of many. Something friends did to celebrate a job well done, Robin explained it as, which in turn solidified the friendship between the two of them. They were a great duo with Malroth destroying and Robin building, and with Lulu they became a great trio as the girl knew what would be needed to make their lives on this island easier.

As the evening turned to night, they sat around the fire Robin created and simply stared into it for a while in silence. Their bellies were full thanks to the skallywinkles and kelp Robin and Malroth gathered, so now they were simply waiting for sleep to weigh down their eyelids.

“So… how did you become a builder, Robin?”

They turned towards Lulu with the slight smile still present on their face and shrugged slightly. They answered that they’ve always wanted to be one so they decided to become one, nothing more and nothing less. This made Malroth cross his arms and glance towards the workbench that was just outside of their little shelter.

“How do you just ‘decide’ to become something like that? It seems great and all but, it’s crazy hard.”

“Only because you’re a brute, you don’t understand the delicacy of building Malroth. I've never tried building myself but to me it doesn’t seem that hard.”

Robin watched the interaction between the two as their smile grew slightly more fond, they enjoyed the atmosphere as it was lighthearted in a way despite the glare Malroth levelled in Lulu’s direction. Lulu did manage to cook some kelp on the fire, so that was saying something about her building capabilities. Still, she couldn’t really speak for building since she hadn’t actually built anything like Robin has.

“Oh yeah? Well why don’t you do the dirty work tomorrow if you know so much about building? Maybe then Robin and I will get the chance to explore the island we’re on.”

Robin quickly intervened, told Malroth that they had already explored the shore and that there was no safe passage into the main land of the island. Seeing as they had no way of knowing if there would even be more land, they couldn’t go out swimming either. So Robin would still build, they loved doing it anyway.

Malroth got a little disheartened at those news, a thoughtful frown appeared on his face as he looked down at the ground in front of him. Robin felt a little bad to have turned it down in such a flat way since it made the mood turn a bit somber, but Lulu managed to throw in her own two cents into their current situation in an effort to make it better.

“Well no matter what happens we’ll help and support each other. We’ll get through this together until help arrives to pick us up. Besides, we have already established our roles, Malroth beat things up, Robin builds, and I know exactly what we need. As long as we work together I’m sure we’ll clear any challenge that is in our way. So don’t be such a downer, Malroth, just focus on the next thing you’ll be able to beat up tomorrow if it makes you happier.”

The two of them then entered an argument on who exactly was the most ‘useful’ one between the two of them, since Robins usefulness had long been established. While they listened to the sound of their companions voices, Robin brought out their large book from the straps on their back to flip through it with a fond smile. These two were great people.

They met the Hairy hermit the next day, walked up a long series of stairs and cliffs to reach his shrine, which Robin was quick to repair. They got their trusty mallet from that Hermit, and got excited to start building all the ideas that swirled around in their head. Now they could break down stronger blocks to build with. Robin was gifted the island, but both Lulu and Malroth were quick to claim it as their own, stating their suggested names and how the three of them would work together to make it the greatest empire ever. Instead of correcting the two of them that the island was rightfully Robin’s, Robin watched the two of them bicker with a small smile. Robin didn’t care much for the islands name or its ruler, what they wanted to accomplish was to build a utopia where anyone who wished to build with them are welcome; where they’d build a great life for their friends.

It was very nice to not be alone.

_We quickly became friends through necessity._   
_ We became closer through accomplishments._   
_ We became almost inseparable through adventures._

They met brownbeard, a man who also ended up on these shores through a storm, and they were now able to travel to different islands to gather materials just like they need for their island. So Malroth and Robin set off for Furrowfield first, which was said to be a land filled with greenery, so they would bring some greenery to their newfound home. Lulu couldn’t stomach setting a foot on the boat, which was understandable in Robins opinion, so Malroth and the builder sailed off on their own towards this new land.

The two friends waved goodbye to Lulu as they left the shore, and as the island was slowly fading from view they looked forward towards the open sea. Side by side, the two friends were looking forward to see what the new island would have to offer.

“This is kinda cool, I don’t think I’ve ever been on a boat before. Do you think it’d be ok if I sit up there? I want to see more ocean and less boat.”

Robin blinked curiously towards Malroth and looked over in the direction he was pointing at, he’s pointing towards the front of the ship, namely the bow where the wind would most likely be the strongest. So they smiled slightly and nodded, walking together with Malroth towards the bow so they can help him get up if he needed it. The muscular man showed a great deal of balance as he easily jumped up on the rail and walk forward onto the bow. He sat cross-legged on top of it, and looked back towards Robin with a wide grin.

“Hey the wind feels really nice here! You should try it too, Robin!”

Robin was about to answer when Brownbeard shouts out from the back, annoyed yet worried for his new passenger.

“Malroth, I’d suggest gettin’ down from ‘ere! You might fall and drop down into da sea!”

Malroth frowned at Brownbeard and waved a dismissive hand in his direction, annoyed in return but more out of pride than actual worry. Robin observed the interaction between the two of them with a large smile.

“You don’t know who you’re talking to, I wouldn’t fall down from here. I’m perfectly safe! So you focus on driving or whatever, Robin is here anyway.”

Robin let out a soft laugh when they heard Brownbeard’s grumbling from the back, which made Malroth join them in their laughter. He was a guy who tested his limits, Robin could understand that already. It wasn’t something that was bad as long as he didn’t get hurt in the process, and him sitting at the front of the boat seemed harmless. Robin was certain that the front bow will now be Malroth’s seat just because Brownbeard stated his worry.

They arrived at the island two days after they left, with their bellies filled from an early breakfast and much daylight to spare. They sailed through a bit of a storm to get here, but as Brownbeard promised they arrived at the island safe and sound. Malroth was especially relieved to be back on solid ground, as was Robin even if they didn’t say it, so the two bounded off towards new adventures while Brownbeard himself sailed away to his beloved waters.

As they stepped up over a hill, the two friends got to see the land of Furrowfield properly. There were large patches of soiled, swampy muck littered all over the place along with moss that grew on top of it as a makeshift grass. The trees were all dead and the stench was horrible. While Robin covered their nose with their hand, Malroth stated their shared thought out loud as the two overlooked the swampy land.

“This island is pretty weird, don’t you think, Robin? The trees are all withered, the ground is gross and slimy… and the whole place stinks like someone left a sack of apples in the sun for a month. Do you really think we’ll find the greenery we’re after in a slimy, stinky place like this?”

Robin turned towards their friend with a slight shrug, nose scrunched together as they removed the hand from their nose. Malroth didn’t seem to have any major problems with the smell so Robin had to do their best to not be affected as well, it would be hard to do anything while covering their nose with one hand. They were unsure if they’d succeed with their mission in a land like this but they had to try, they hadn’t even found this person who knew of farming the hairy hermit was talking about.

Malroth got a bit excited when he noticed a large, pink blob thing pulsating on the ground and ran forward towards it. Robin quickly followed as they didn’t want to be left behind but kept their distance from the thing. They wanted to tell Malroth that it was anything but a fruit like he suggested, but when Malroth reached out to touch it the whole thing exploded in a cloud of purple gas. Malroth was caught right in the middle of it so he started coughing like crazy while Robin ran forward to try and help him. The two of them managed to wave off the majority of the gas so the foul stench wouldn’t invade their senses anymore.

“The stupid thing blew up in my face! And what a stink! Look, it turned the dirt around it all gross and slimey, too.”

Robin nodded slightly and looked at the withered crops in front of them. If their eyes didn’t betray them, the once healthy patches of wheat had now crumpled and rotted from the foul cloud of fumes. Malroth started to laugh out of nowhere, which prompted the builder to look at their friend curiously while he aimed a grin in their direction.

“I’ve heard of fruit going off before but not like that! This place is crazy!”

Robin smiled once more and shook their head, they decided to not mention how that thing wasn’t a fruit since Malroth seemed to find humour in it. Being the fighter of the two of them, Malroth once again somehow ‘sensed' a fight brewing further off, right before they heard the loud pleas of help. The two friends nodded at one another and rushed off to rescue the person in need. Malroth said it sounded ‘fun’ but they doubted he’d see any fight from the victims point of view, as it would be far from fun to be attacked without a weapon.

The two of them saw two Badboons stand at the bottom of a cliff, to which Malroth ran forward with his club held high in the air in preparation to strike. Robin wasn’t as fast as their friend but once they reached the fight they didn’t hesitate to hit the monsters with their cypress stick of wood. Once the monsters were defeated the two friends shared a celebratory high five with bright grins on their faces. Robin got a scratch or two but it was nothing a good sleep wouldn’t be able to heal.

At the top of the cliff they meet Rosie, to which they introduced themselves to the girl in return. Apparently she was a farmer and, despite the ‘rules’ that was against building, Rosie begged Robin to help her with rejuvenating their farms. When Robin was shown the Furrowfield farm and it’s ‘greenery’ the two friends could only think that it really stank… They met the two other farmers, Pierre and Bonanzo, to which the two males immediately rejected Robins help to build up the farm. But Robin didn’t care for their opinion, as long as Rosie wanted their help they’d help build up their farm anyway.

So once the situation was explained to them, they glanced towards Malroth and shared a determined nod. It was time to gather materials and build.


	2. Furrowfield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second part of the furrowfield adventure

_We found new friends._   
_ Both through enemies and strangers._

With an irrigation system and a field built, along with some cabbages grown and more on the way, Furrowfield farm was getting better and better through Robins hard work. With the help of Malroth, they had cleared space for new buildings and destroyed the old blocks of wood that was there when they arrived that could never hold against an attack. It might have left the land slightly barren, but Robin had plans for the farm that they were excited to build.

They rang the builders bell once and got a strange bulb from Rosie, to which the symbol and soil that had been in the middle of Furrowfield farm started to glow in a light blue light. Once they had planted the bulb in the glowing spot, it quickly grew into a large tree. Despite the fact that the tree was completely bare, it was somehow brimming with life. Seeing the tree, Rosie told them that building itself apparently was a sin, so it wasn’t long before a ‘pastor’ arrived to see what the light was about, and the monster was not pleased by the sight of the tree.

“What in the name of Hargon is happening here?!”

The monster quickly ran over towards the plaza and Robin decided to stand in front of the young tree in hopes to protect their new creation from the monster. Malroth was quick to follow their example as he stood next to the builder with his arms crossed over his chest. The rest of the villagers cowered uncertainly at the sidelines.

“Who planted this tree? Answer me, faithless wretches!”

Robin decided to answer the monsters question truthfully, as they always do, and told this pastor that it was them who planted the tree, and that Robin was building up a farm where crops could grow and flourish. This did not sit well with the monster in front of them.

“What what?! A farm you say?!”  
The monster started to charge up magic into their staff, which made everyone flinch back slightly, however Robin held out their arms in front of the tree to protect it with a fierce look on their face.  
“Heresy! How dare you sully my island with the sinful stain of creation! You will pay dearly for this!”

Malroth was quick to draw out his club in retaliation, ready to attack, as the villagers cowered and begged for mercy from the pastor. Rosie tried to take the blame, saying that it was her idea, so the pastor would not punish Robin. The builder doubted it would have any effect on who the pastor chose to target, it was either themselves or the tree, but much to their surprise the pastor paused in his magic casting to stare at Robin with his mask-like face.

“A builder?! This witless-looking whelp?”

Robin nodded and was still determined to protect the tree, which was when the pastor turned his attention to look more closely at the tree. The monster mumbled something similar to ‘could it be..?’ which Malroth was quick to pick up on.

“Could it really be what? If you know something about it, then spit it out.” he demanded, while still proudly holding onto his club.

The pastor paused for a breath or two before he explained that the tree before them was a young Deitree, a sacred sentinel of the Furrowfield Forest that some time ago apparently had blessed the land and made it flourish. After learning this, the pastor allowed them to keep growing the tree through an ‘high pastor order’, as Robin would like to call it, and promised to keep their secret of the tree as long as the villagers helped to make it flourish. Seeing as the pastor wasn't a threat anymore, at least for now, Malroth hesitantly sheathed his club onto his back once again and Robin relaxed from their protective pose with a small smile.

As Rosie protested against the pastors proposition that the village would be even able to grow the tree, the monster himself said that he would stay at Furrowfield farm and help the tree flourish by following the ancient texts he had read. Malroth leaned a little closer to the builder while still keeping an eye on the pastor.

“I don’t know what his deal is, but if he breaks his promise you can count on me to clobber him into oblivion, alright?”

Robin nodded towards Malroth as thanks before they focused on the list of tasks the pastor was telling them about to help the tree grow stronger. They would have to make the fields larger and grow more crops, which seemed simple enough in principle, but considering that the only soil they could get their hands on at the moment was from the rotting land around them, it was going to be harder than it sounded.

The villagers seemed to be in favour to the idea, but Malroth was quick to state his distrust to the others, saying that the pastor shouldn’t be trusted since he showed up out of nowhere. The two of them had a bit of a standoff, ready to attack one another due to distrust, when Rosie intervened that the villagers would need everyone’s help to succeed in what they were trying to achieve. Once Robin said that they’d help grow the Deitree and bring Furrowfield farm back to life, the teal haired farmer jumped with joy and the dispute between Malroth and the pastor died down.

Robin approached Malroth after everyone had split up and gently settled a hand on his shoulder to see if he was really alright with this decision. Thankfully, they didn’t need to speak because Malroth managed to read their look perfectly and turn towards them with a slight smile.

“It cool for now. Let’s give these tasks a shot. If nothing else, we’ll learn how to grow ourselves some greenery back on the Isle of Awakening. And I mean what I said, if that Pastor guy end up slipping I’ll be there to give him a good beating.”

Robin nodded with a large grin on their face before telling Malroth that they should fix some beds for the two of them where they could sleep. They didn’t have enough dry grass to make beds for everyone just yet, but tomorrow they would make sure to do so. Robin distributed the cabbages between everyone so everyone could have some food before they all went their separate ways to sleep.

The next day, Robin got a request from Bonanzo to build a room, to which they eagerly accepted the request. They made sure to gather enough dry grass so they could create a bed each for everyone present, along with a nice floor so they wouldn’t have to feel any muck from the swampy ground. To gather the oil that they needed, Robin and Malroth went outside to kill some slimes. That’s when they noticed a strange structure not too far off from the farm and they approached it slowly.

“Hey what’s that?”

Robin answered Malroth with a shrug and inspected the structure some more, their fingers itched to fix it as it was obviously asymmetrical. There stood two pillars, one whole pillar to the left but the right one was too short, with two pieces of brick simply lying beside the pillar. So they put on their bulder’s gloves and lifted up the blocks of brick, jumping up to place them in their rightful place on top of the right pillar. They felt extremely satisfied when they looked at the now symmetrical structure, it always felt great to build stuff whether symmetrical or not, but this structure was simply supposed to be built this way.

“Hey, Robin! Check this out, this tablet thing is glowing. Wasn’t it a question mark before?”

They blinked and look over towards Malroth, said fighter was pointing at the tablet that was behind the two pillars, and just like he said, it was glowing. Malroth went over first and picked up something from within the tablet, he held it up to his face and when Robin approached, they noticed that it was some kind of coin. The male handed it over to their friend so the builder could inspect it properly.

“What do you think it is??”

Robin shrugged and told him that they didn’t know, but that it might be special so they might as well hold onto it. Malroth grinned at this and nodded, the two of them walked back towards the farm with lots of oil to create lights with.

“Yeah sounds like a good idea. Hey, maybe you can build something cool with it if we find more of those! I’ll tell you if I ever see one.”

They thanked their friend with a happy smile and immediately turned towards the crafting bench to create light for the room they had made, everyone needed a place to sleep after all.

Once the bedroom was done they started to build a restaurant of sorts, where they could cook food for everyone and have a table set up for everyone to eat at. It was well into the evening when Robin had finished their construction and they grinned happily at what they had accomplished. They were tired, sweaty and their tummy was aching a lot, but they built two buildings in a day! They could only imagine the great amount of work they had ahead of them, and it was making their heart soar with joy to create things for their newfound friends.

Malroth was the only one who was up when Robin finished the kitchen and he clapped happily for his friends achievement.

“Nice Robin! The others will love to eat in here tomorrow.”

They grinned towards Malroth and gave him a thumbs up, right before they bend over in pain and exhaustion while holding onto their belly. Malroth quickly ran forward to see what was wrong, to which the builder also wanted an answer to since they didn’t know, but the answer came to both of them when a loud, miserable growl emitted from their stomach. Robin felt their cheeks warm up in embarrassment, they had completely forgotten to eat anything the whole day because they were so busy building. Malroth let out a heavy, tired sigh and he let his fist grind into the builders head as a form of punishment for doing something so stupid. Robin couldn’t really fight him off, being too tired and hungry to do so.

“You know for a great builder you shouldn’t forget to eat, stupid. You got any cabbages on you?”

Robin shook their head sheepishly, they had already given all of their cabbages to Rosie so she could distribute them to all the villagers while they were working. They had none left on their person… so Malroth dragged them over to one of the dining tables they recently built, forced them to sit down and put one of his own cabbages on the table in front of them. Malroth took a step back and glared at Robin, his arms crossed like a bodyguard of sorts when doing so.

“Now eat. I’m not having you bend over like that in a fight, you need your energy.”

They tried to argue that it was Malroth’s cabbage and that they would be fine until morning, but they quickly followed through with Malroths fierce request when said fighter took the oak club off his back as a threat. They continued to be forcefully fed by their friend until Malroth was satisfied, to which Robin then got dragged to bed by their shirt with Malroth grumbling how stupid the builder could be. They couldn’t help the warm smile on their face when they looked up at their friend, Malroth was concerned for their health. That was really nice of him… they never imagined they’d ever get a friend like Malroth, who could be just as fierce and destructive as he could be caring and gentle.

Well, gentle would never be a good word to describe Malroth to an outsider, but from Robins point of view Malroth had a gentle heart. His rough exterior was just that, an exterior, and that nights events solidified that image in Robin’s mind.

_The greenery flourished._   
_ As did its people._   
_ And we helped them build hope for the future._

It had been a little over two weeks since Robin and Malroth came to Furrowfield to search for greenery and companions.

They had rung the bell two times more after Rosie’s first prompt to do so, which then made their base reach level three. The sound of the bell had also attracted new people to join them, so there were even more people living on the farm than in the beginning. They’d fought off waves of monsters who wanted to destroy their farms, and built more buildings for its residents. Malroth had taught them a few new moves which included a spinning slash and a hard bash with their hammer.

Robin also made a new, better weapon for Malroth that they gave him right after they had invented it. They always looked back on the memory fondly when they presented the new gift to their friend.

Robin handed over a large stone axe towards Malroth with a large smile on their face, to which the male took it from their hands with a look of surprise.

“What’s this? Did you make me a new weapon? Haha! Thanks! I love it!”

Malroth grinned widely at Robin and preformed a few test swings with his new large axe, seemingly pleased with its balance. He brought forth his oak club, the very first weapon Robin made for him, and gazed between the two weapons with a thoughtful look on his face. He then put the axe on his back while holding the club in his hands with a fond smile.

“I’ll use the axe from now on, but I’ll keep hold of this oaken club you made me too.”

Robin blinked and tilted their head slightly in confusion, silently wondering why he’d keep a worse weapon. Malroth chuckled and put away the oaken club while he proudly put his hands on his hips.

“After all it’s the first thing you ever made me. I suppose it’s got sentimental value. But hey, if you invent any weapons that would make me deal even more damage, build them straight away and hand them over!”

Robin smiled warmly at their friend and gave him a thumbs up along with a nod, they’d make sure to do that.

The town had two girls who cooked food, many farmers who took care of the fields and different crops that grew in the fields. Thanks to Wriggley the wiggley their whole farm had gotten filled with clean soil, most of which was then covered by green grass. Robin also acquired a bottomless pot which was very fruitful for their crop growing. It did not have clean water in it, as Robin hadn’t found any, but dirty water was better than none. They acquired a dog, who they decided to call Alice, and found many different seeds thanks to her. Things were looking up for the farm in Furrowfield.

An evening when Malroth and Robin were eating together, where Malroth strangely enough never ate anything but only made sure the builder got fed, with all the other villagers, the man turned towards them with a slight frown on his face.

“Hey… I know that you’re already busy with so much to build but, the bedroom is kinda cramped now. Really cramped cause not everyone can get a bed to sleep on. You think you could expand it a bit? Or build a new one? I guess it’s fine with a lot of people but it’s just getting awkward.”

Robin blinked and thought about it for a few moments. They could create an upper floor to the building they’ve already made, with stairs so the villagers could get up and have more room to sleep. But if their friend was awkward because there were so many people around, Robin decided to suggest if they should build a private bedroom for only Malroth to use as they could put a nameplate inside of it. It could easily be done after all. This made their friend let out a thoughtful sound and crossed his arms while his fingers tapped against his bicep. Malroth nodded slowly and looked towards Robin with a smile.

“Well if you’re offering, that’d be nice. Though who is going to keep check on you to make sure that you fall asleep if I can’t keep an eye on you? I doubt Betty would care even if she stays up late.”

Robin laughed and lightly shoved against Malroths shoulder in good humor and told him that they could build a room for the two of them then. This made Malroth grin widely in triumph and said ‘that’s even better!’ before he shoved Robin back in retaliation. Being the strong person he was, and the builder not as strong, Robin ended up sprawled on the floor from the shove. Anyone who witnessed the interaction had a hearty laugh, Malroth and Robin included, and they got pulled back onto their feet by their friend.

They got to work, built a new bedroom for the villagers to sleep in as an upper floor while they also made a smaller bedroom for themselves and Malroth a little further away. Since it was their bedroom Robin decided to make it a little fancier with their own tables to eat at with stools and a small pot as decoration. Needless to say, Malroth was very pleased with the room and the two of them shared a high five once it was finished with large grins on both of their faces.

They met a very nice orc who taught them how to plant tomato seeds, a gruff monster with a gentle heart. Malroth did take out his weapon as a threat when the orc asked Robin if they were a builder but once it was clear the monster wasn’t part of children of Hargon, the male put it away again a bit begrudgingly. Another nice orc taught them how to fertilise their crops, which was very appreciated, and they met a ghost who buried the pumpkin seeds, and a Bodkin who told them of an old alliance between the rats, humans and bodkin. It was quite interesting to hear of the alliance and they were glad to help the ghost build up their temple. They protected it from the children of Hargon as well and the ghost mentioned something about Malroth having a destructive aura, to which both of them were confused. The comment would be pushed to the back of their mind as they had too much to focus on at that moment.

Once pumpkins, tomatoes, sugarcanes, cabbages and wheat all grew in different fields and the bell had rung once more, the Deitree gained even more strength and grew even further. Everyone in the village, which included the monster pastor Al, were happy with the trees progress and they all decided to have a festival, a harvest festival like Furrowfield had in the past. Robin was in charge of the decoration and created streams of banners that lined every building, pumpkin lights to brighten up the streets and Perry made pumpkin hats for everyone to wear.

During the festival Robin was happy to have their pumpkin hat on their head but Malroth had a slightly different reaction to it all as he danced with everyone else.

“Robin! Help! Perry put this stupid thing on my head and I can’t take it off! And it’s making me move about too- I can’t stop dancing! Quick, Robin, you’ve got to do something!”

Malroths panic made Robin laugh loud and clear, they shook their head at their friend and gently patted his shoulder in sympathy. That made Malroth flinch back and they could see his eyes widen from behind the mask.

“Hold on… you don’t think this mask is cursed, do you?!”

They simply laughed again and told Malroth to not worry too much about it, it was natural to join the celebration and dance like all the others when on a festival. They could tell that Malroth actually enjoyed dancing with everyone else to which his earlier panic was just him being silly for the sake of saving his image. Robin would join the celebration soon but first they needed to go around and talk to all the villagers to assure that they were having a great time.

They harvested all the crops, pastor Al joined them as an official builder and everyone were having a great time through the whole night with song and dance. Bonanzo was surprisingly good at singing and everyone cheered for him while he sang the night away.

When morning came, so did the great badboon with a furious shout of Pastor Al’s name, Alakazam. The leader wanted Al to destroy the farm they had built together but in refusing, the Pastor paid a heavy price. The price of his life.

No one could do anything as the badboon destroyed the Deitree with only two attacks and once the monsters were defeated, the pastor himself soon faded away after giving out his words of faith in their building. Malroth was angry, the villagers were all brought to despair but Robin remained determined. They could simply build it again, destruction could give way to new buildings. And they simply had to make a better tree than before.

So with pastor Al’s windbreaker and the knowledge of the Deitree’s origin, Malroth and Robin set out to find the most important ingredients to a Deitree. They met the old Deitree and took its cores, they visited the Rats, the Bodkin and a slime to get the flowers they needed. And with the villagers help they built the new tree from the ground.

They found clean water to rejuvenate their tree and as the two friends were watching the villagers build the last part of the tree, Malroth started up a conversation.

“I’m still feeling weird, after what they did to pastor Al… I just want to clobber that badboon to dust and take revenge for him, but everyone else want to rather build this tree. Am I in the wrong here…?”

Robin shook their head and focused on their friend with a small smile, telling him that it was natural for him to feel that way. When you lose someone you see as important, you get sad and everyone reacts to it in different ways. So you tell him that the villagers reaction to his death is to make pastor Al’s dream come true for him. And his is to beat up the person who took them away. This made Malroth frown even more and focus on Robin with a serious stare, arms crossed over his chest.

“So what’s your take then? What’s your reaction to losing someone?”

They look back towards the tree that was being built, a small yet sad smile on their face as they think about Pastor Al. From enemies to friends, it was a rarity to have monsters and humans work together and Robin liked the pastor. So they replied that their handle on grief is to help others get over theirs. Only after that could they be free from their own grief.

“Help others first? That doesn’t really make sense, how would helping others lessen up the-.. grief that you feel?”

Robin explain it as a broken bridge where they themselves are the ropes that kept it together. If the wooden planks on the bridge, who were the villagers, were broken everyone would still be able to use it as long as the ropes keep steady, so their job as the rope is to fix the wooden planks. Malroth didn’t seem to like this analogy as he let out a frustrated sound, which made Robin look at their friend curiously.

“But what if the ropes are broken, huh? Then the bridge would just fall apart! You need to take care of yourself first so it won’t fall to ruin, if you want to do something let’s go do it! If clobbering up that badboon is the way to go then let’s do that! If building is what you want to do then do it! Stop standing around and focus on others before yourself, just do something to lessen it!”

Robin only grinned at their friend and shook their head. They may be grieving for their friend but Robin told Malroth that as long as the wooden beams, which is Malroth, are always there the rope for the bridge would never come apart. As long as Malroth can stand beside them and help them with their tasks they can handle anything, even getting over the grief for their friend.

The man froze slightly at Robins statement and they settled a hand on Malroths shoulder, to which they grinned even wider and gave him a nod.

“As long as you’re beside me, I can continue to make others lives better. And once their hopes have been fulfilled, mine will too. Cause you’re my friend.”

Malroth destroyed while Robin built, they were two sides of the same coin, a package deal. One cannot exist without the other. At least that’s what Robin felt, so as long as Malroth could fight beside them they could take on anything life threw at them.


	3. Back home + Khrumbul-dun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A journey back home. Then a journey to new adventures.

_ We built up our island.  _

_ Brick by brick.  _

_ Piece by piece. _

_ Where I built and you destroyed. _

Getting back to the Island if awakening was a treat in itself. They got many new friends who came with them and Lulu was ok. They started to work on a new area where Robin drew sketches of the new landscape in their book to make the tablet come to life. Together with the villagers they built a river, brick by brick, so the land could grow into a beautiful green garden. They set out worm food for Wriggley to spread his grass and sailed off to another island to find chickens for Perry. Robin had so many ideas for their new landscape that they could burst.   


It was when they were checking off stuff from the list brownbeard gave them that Robin and Malroth accidentally gained the attention from a strong monster. Before they realized it, the strong orc had already pierced its spear into Robin's back multiple times which threw them forwards from the momentum with a cry of pain. They could hear Malroths worried and enraged shout when they got hurt and Robin struggled to stand back up once more. They could barely stand already, but Malroth couldn't handle that thing alone.   


So they pulled out the deadly poison stinger they crafted from an enormous poison caterpillar and ran forward to help Malroth with the fight. He was doing a great job at redirecting the spear whenever it came too close and he got some hits in with his powerful barbed club. Robin ran around the orc and slashed the poison needle into its leg, causing the orc to grunt out in pain and turn towards Robin instead. They tried to dodge the spears swipe but Robin had miscalculated the length of the spear, so they got hit harshly in the head and was effectively knocked out.   


Furious and worried, Malroth gained the monsters attention once more, only to slide in between its legs and ran towards Robins limp body. He quickly picked them up and slung them over his shoulder, grabbed their weapon and ran far away from the strong monster. Two hits and Robin, who was normally dependable in fights, went down. So he destroyed a small part of a hill to make a small hole for himself and his friend, where Robin could rest safely and wake up. Malroth sighed and spoke despite that his friend wasn’t able to hear him.   


“You’re seriously stupid sometimes… why’d you have to do that?”

Malroth dug into Robins bag, the one that never seemed to run out of space for some reason, and put down a bonfire that the builder had made previously. He couldn’t do anything while Robin was still resting so he settled down and waited for his friend to wake up. Both of them didn’t pay attention to their surroundings and now Robin was hurt, Malroth was determined to always be aware of his surroundings from now on. He couldn’t let Robin get hurt like this, they were too important to-. For-. For everything, Robin is important to everything that happened around them so if they got hurt, everything would crumble apart. So Malroth nodded to himself, certain of this new conviction as he looked upon his friend with a small frown.  


So once Robin woke up the next day, they got an earful from Malroth how they shouldn’t have jumped back into the fight after they got hurt like that. They said a sheepish apology in return while they put some medicinal herb on their back to help their wound heal a lot faster, and also eating a bit of the bitter paste to help it further. It was difficult to put it on their back but they didn’t want to bother Malroth with it. They might have missed a spot, but as long as they could walk it was fine.   


Once they came home with many new seeds and the requested chicken, with all of brownbeards things checked off the list of course, they were greeted by the sight of the rivers pond being finished. They helped to expand the river further to have a waterfall run through a cave, to which they had to defeat many purple snails who had claimed the cave as theirs. As they were admiring the new pond, monster crabs decided to appear soon after Malroth had sensed that something was amiss. Everyone worked together to take them down but it was really Malroth who took the spotlight in that battle, like in any battle. The two friends shared a high five once the crabs were defeated and Rosie approached with a cry of their names from her lips.   


“Robin, Malroth! Thanks for taking care of those pesky crustaceans!”

“I wonder what put them in such a crabby mood, though…”

Pierre said softly and looked over the group. No one laughed at his attempt to joke around and Robins small smile would never count in the ways of humor. The lad started to panic slightly and waved his arms around.   


“Don’t look at me like that… it was a joke! Alright, so it weren’t my best ‘un… maybe I was clutchin’ at claws if I thought it was funny…”

Rosie sighed at her friend and put a hand to her chin in thought, looking down at the water they were all standing in after the fight with those crabs. She said that there were an awful lot of monsters on this island, to which Bonanzo agrees with her.

“They do not seem to be affiliated with the Children of Hargon, yet they pose a threat nonetheless. We must remain vigilant! Luckily we have Malroth to protect us! Without you, we would be crab food-quite literally! You may not be a born builder, but your martial prowess is beyond reproach!”

Malroth seemed to be taken aback by the sudden praise and attention and looked around at everyone present who were smiling at him. He let out a huff and smirked at Bonanzo, a humorous look in his eyes.   


“Me, protect you?! I don’t think so, I only look out for my friends-and I don’t make friends with bearded bumpkins.”

Robin couldn’t help the amused snort from escaping them, but it was thankfully not heard when Rosie chose to intervene before any fights broke out among them. Everyone admired their newly made river once more to which Robin got praise for their help with creating it, everyone seemed excited for what the future had in store. Malroth, however, started to act a little strange now when all tablet targets were completed.   


He held onto his head and bent over as if in pain, to which everyone got worried for him. The others dismissed it as Malroth feeling bad that he couldn’t build anything and the subject was dropped. They started to discuss what to do with the island and that they wanted to have new friends from other islands to help them, to which Lulu quickly reminded everyone that they should look at the tablet itself. But as they were all walking off towards it, Robin made sure to keep an eye on their friend. When they tried to inquire what was wrong, Malroth shook his head and aimed a smile towards them.   


“Let’s go see what else the tablet has to say.”

And so they did.   


Robin could feel a powerful force emitting from the tablet and as everyone else looked on, the light from the tablet entered Robin. Robin could feel energy fill up their being as everyone else cheered for them, and they couldn’t help but smile at Lulus comment on them growing taller. Robin highly doubted that was the case, but they did feel stronger in a way. The Hairy hermit came in and gave his own praise to Robin and while that happened Malroth could hear a voice speaking to him in his head.

“Huh? Robin did you say something?”

They turned towards Malroth in confusion and shook their head, a slight frown formed on their face in worry for their friend. Malroth suddenly turned away and spoke to empty air, asking who this voice was and what they wanted. While the others were looking at him in concern, the voice told Malroth how his powers of destruction would grow as Robins power to build grew.   


They wanted to intervene with their friend's one sided conversation, at least from Robins point of view, as the voice continued to speak to Malroth how his destructive powers would continue to grow. Robins concern for their friend skyrocketed when he started to hold onto his head in pain once more, before they could lay a hand on Malroth to show their concern an orange aura suddenly enveloped him when Malroth rose up.   


When the other villagers tried to state their concern for Malroth after the conversation was obviously broken up, since Malroth grew silent for a few seconds, the male played it off as if it was nothing to worry about. That it was something positive that happened and he got stronger.   


Robin was relieved that their friend was ok, but they couldn’t help the worry gnawing in their chest from the one sided interaction. Malroth sounded frustrated and confused to whoever he talked to, but if he didn’t want to talk about it Robin wouldn’t pressure him.   


However, from that day on they started to pay a little more attention to their friend and saw how he had changed slightly, almost minuscule, but his stance, fighting style and walk had changed. He had more power in his steps, certainly, but he was also more aggressive. They would simply make sure to be there for their friend if he ever needed it.   


With another explorer shore's island's things checked off, a restaurant, two fields, a large bedroom and toilet built for the islands citizens, Malroth and Robin went away towards new adventures.    
  


_ We saved cities.  _

_ We built hope.  _

_ We destroyed those who stood in the way of that hope. _

_ We were a great team.  _

The roasting sands of Khrumbul-dun was unbearable when they had first arrived, hot, seething and unforgivable to its occupants. When the two friends first arrived, the ground had crumbled under their feet from an earthquake, to which they got saved when a young girl, Babs, who gave them sand to build an exit for themselves since the builder couldn’t break the blocks around them with their hammer.   


The beautiful female led them to her mining town to which she explained the mines had run dry with metal. This made Robin determined to help the people of this small town and they found a golem who could help make that dream come true.   


It was a bit unnerving to meet the golem at first since it spoke with an ominous voice for Robin, the builder, to approach them. And as all of them went down the mine shaft towards the voice, Malroth made sure to stick close to Robin with his club ready just in case. Robin smashed through the wall of sand that trapped the golem and once it realized that it was free it looked towards the group of 5 who had gathered before them. The two miners Digby and Dougie were cowering before the monster while Robin, Babs and Malroth all looked at the golem curiously.

“BOO… HOO? YOU… BUILDER? YOU FIND ME, YOU FREED ME, THANK YOU… NO POWER NO MORE… BRING ME COPPER, SILVER, GOLD, GET STRONG AGAIN…”

Malroth had put his weapon away once he realized that this was a docile monster, and started laughing at the golems sudden demands that it had directed towards Robin.

“Haha! We’ve only just met, and already he’s asking us for the moon on a stick! I think I like this guy!”

Robin directed an amused smile in Malroths direction, of course he’d like that kind of stuff in someone. Babs told the golem that they couldn’t gather the metal he was requesting because the entrance to the mine was sealed. The golem immediately agreed to help them all once it focused on Babs, saying that she was pretty, and quickly went off to break the blockage over the entrance. Robin clapped happily as the wall of hard stone crumbled away.

“Haha! That was brilliant! You tore that wall down like it was made of paper!”

Malroth shouted with a cheer of his own and nodded in approval towards the golem. He thought that this golem could be very useful.   


The golems name was Goldirox and was the guardian of this mine and as he waited for his metal, Goldirox stayed in the middle of the mining town. Robin went through the mine, blew up some blockage, fixed some supports and got the mine up and running again. Malroth quickly became friends with the large golem and Robin would often find him talking to the large monster while they were off building. It was rare for Malroth to take such an immediate shine to someone so when they asked, Malroth replied with this.   


“Cause he’s neat! That golem really packs a punch, he smashed a hole clean through that rock and made it look easy! I kinda wonder if he can teach me how to hit like that. Just imagine how much havoc I could wreck!”

So it was friendship from a beneficial destructive point of view for now, but Robin was certain that it would change. After all, giving Goldirox metal would bring back the golden age, he’s important for the success of this town.   


The constant earthquakes were a bit troublesome to build through, since they made Robin unsteady, but they made it work. Malroth went on regular disputes with Dougie and Digby over nothing in particular, only so they could share some punches and let off some steam. Robin didn’t fully understand the joy of fighting, they only fought through necessity, but they were glad that Malroth was enjoying himself. He hadn’t lost a single match as of yet.   


They had rung the bell to draw more miners attention, to show that the mine was open once more, three people had come. These new miners also tried to beat Malroth in fist fights just like Dougie and Digby but they were no match for their friend. Robin did have a lot of fun trying to flex their muscles with their two new miner friends together with Malroth, even if their muscles had nothing to show against the other threes large biceps.   


The bar was being built to raise the morale of the miners but it still had a long way to go before it would be finished, they needed more metal, which they would only get a small share of from at the end of the day. It wasn’t enough to build with properly, but since they were too busy building they didn’t have time to go down and get the materials themselves. When they did enter the mines, it was to advance the mine's progress.   


Robin built a small cookhouse, lit up the village and made the bedroom into a dormitory. They rang the bell once more and invited more miners to join their town, to which they happily agreed with a little nudge from Babs. They were getting more and more copper each day and the bar was shaping up nicely.   


Once they had set up two keg counters as a large table where people could sit down and have a drink together, an arm wrestling competition ensued among all the muscle brained miners. It was during one of the few nights Robin joined in on the daily evening party and they, along with Malroth, got dragged into the competition as well.   


Robin tried to protest, said that they weren’t really that strong, but with alcohol in their systems the brutes didn’t understand Robins refusal. Their first match was against Digby and, needless to say, the miner didn’t have to struggle that much to beat Robin's flimsy attempt. They even sprained their wrist because of their lack of proper arm wrestling hold, to which Babs was quick to pull Robin aside so she could wrap it in bandage while she also scolded Digby for going so hard on them.   


When Robin lost however, Malroth became even more serious during the tournament and didn’t hesitate to slam down each and every brutes hand into the table as hard as he could, to the point that most of them got bruises on their hands from the force. In the finals, it was a match between Dougie and Malroth and it seemed to be at a stand still between the two of them. But the moment Malroth brought out that orange, powerful aura around him, Dougie's hand crashed hard into the keg counter. And the counter, which had withstood many powerful assault that evening, cracked under the pressure and broke apart. A lost keg counter could always be built anew.  


Everyone cheered for Malroths victory and raised their glasses in the air, Robin included, but they accidentally dropped their half empty mug when Malroth suddenly grabbed Robin's other arm and raised it with his own, a large grin on his face.

“And for Robin, who’s the best builder alive!”

The cheers in the open bar grew louder at Malroths claim and Robin couldn’t help the embarrassed yet happy grin from spreading on their face; they were only an apprentice, not a full builder yet. But... it was nice to be acknowledged.   


As Robin laid in the now very cramped dormitory, they thought back to when they built this dormitory with a small glance towards Babs sleeping form not too far from them.   


They could see a large pleased grin on Digby’s face through his mask when he looked at the dormitory Robin built, but after his initial praise he turned towards the builder and studied them quietly for a second or two. Robin only blinked in confusion.   


“By gosh why do you ‘ave to be so smart ‘nd pretty… listen ‘ere! You stick to Malroff, alright?! Or Goldirox, if that’s yer fing. Don’t you even fink abaht gettin’ yer ‘ooks into Babs-she’s mine!”

They never imagined anyone would call them pretty in any way, but to be immediately accused of trying to steal someone doesn’t really sit right with them. But before they could explain themselves, that they were  _ not _ going after Babs like he was thinking, they got interrupted by Goldirox's displeased voice.   


“NOO!”

The two of them look out from the door towards Goldirox, Digby voice both of their confusion over the golems sudden displeasure.   


“W-Wot the..?! Wot’s got into ya, Goldirox? Robin ain’t yer type?”

Goldirox wasn’t Robins type either but they’d rather not say it in case it hurt Goldirox feelings. But the golem simply shook his head and stared at Digby.

“PRETTY LADY NOT BELONG TO YOU... ME LIKE PRETTY LADY TOO!”

To have the whole town pine after her, it was quite a feat. Robin could admit that she was pretty, prettier than any other woman they’ve met, and she did have a kind heart for working so hard for everyone. But Robin could never see themselves in any kind of relationship, much less with her. They wouldn’t mind a partner, but Robin simply hadn’t met anyone who has made them interested yet.   


They looked up into the open sky above them, made a mental note to fix an upper floor to this one, and quietly wondered why Digby had mentioned that they should stick to Malroth. He must’ve misunderstood their relationship with one another, they only help each other with anything they can.   


They thought back to when Malroth tried to build something again a few days earlier when the male approached Robin with a large smile on his face.   


“I’ve been watching you you know. Build stuff-on furrow field, back home and now in Khrumble-dun. Let me have a go at that workbench!”

Robin nodded and took a step aside, letting Malroth do whatever he wanted to do. The male picked up a piece of wood with a determined frown on his face.   


“You do like this…”

He hammered a few times and tried to change the woods shape like Robin was always able to. Nothing happened so he tried again with his frown deepening in concentration, but just like every other time he had tried, the construction blew up in his face in a fume of black smoke. Robin waved away the smoke with a few coughs while Malroth grabbed his head to scream out in frustration.   


“AAAAARG! Why can’t I do it?! WHY?! Everyone else can build stuff, but whenever I try, nothing works!”

Malroth sighed and looked down at the ground, his usually determined frown sad as he think about how fun building seemed to be whenever Robin or any of the other villagers built. He wanted to be able to do it too, to shape wood and any other material magically to create something new. But he really couldn’t.

“Maybe that voice was right… maybe I really am just the master of destruction…”

Robin frowned at their friends statement and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, they didn’t know what Malroth was talking about, but to be the master of destruction is a bold claim. Sure, he was amazing at destruction but Robin would never go so far as to say that Malroth is a master and would never be able to build anything if he really wanted to. Malroth looked at Robin with a small smile and shook his head.

“Ah forget it. Why do I need to build anything anyway, when I’ve got a real live builder by my side! You can take care of crafting-but if any monsters need mashing, I’m your man!”

Robin looked at Malroth for a few seconds longer to see if he really was okay with it, when they couldn’t find any signs of a lie they nodded with a slight smile in return. They were still worried for their friend, he seemed so frustrated by the fact that he wasn’t able to build, but they hoped that if Malroth ever got any kind of trouble that he would reach out to Robin. Just how Robin would reach out to him, they help each other, and Robin hoped that Malroth would someday reach out to them with his problems in return. Because they are the ropes and beams to a bridge, they help and support one another to keep the bridge steady. Because that’s what friends do.   


And they’re the best of friends. 


	4. Digging for silver and gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Further Khrumbul-dun adventures

_ We found glittering silver deep underneath _

_ I got many questions that I did my best to answer _

_ And I found a new favorite place on the island _

After Magrog had quite obsessively begged to have a taste of Babs cooking after finding iron, Malroth approached Robin once Magrog had walked away dejected. 

“Um, Robin… Is it just me, or have you noticed that whenever Babs comes up, the people here start acting all strange?”

Robin smiled at Malroth with a slight shrug and explained that it was love. This made Malroth a little surprised yet confused as he regarded his friend.

“‘Love’ you say? Never heard of it. If you find any, can you give me a bit?”

Robin couldn’t help but burst out laughing at their friends naivety and wrapped an arm around Malroths shoulder as a side hug, a wide grin on their face. They said that Malroth already had lots of love given to him already, which made Malroth confused.

“Really? But I can’t feel anything different about me, I’d have noticed it wouldn’t I?”

Robin shook their head and let go of Malroth when he was getting a bit tense, the male didn’t enjoy too much contact after all, and proceeded to explain what they meant. That love that’s given to you won’t change you yourself but rather change how people around you act. Love wasn’t something one could see or notice but it was a connection between people. Robin took the two friends relationship as an example, told him how they always helped each other and supported each other to accomplish something. That was a type of love, a love between friends.   


“Huh… so this ‘Love’ is a connection between people? But then if we have that why aren’t we acting weird like they are?”

This made Robin think of how to explain it to their friend and they proceeded to take out a stick and drew in the sand. They drew two stick figures with a heart in between them while the second picture was two stick figures within a heart. Malroth let out an amused snort.

“For such a great builder you’re not that good at drawing in sand.”

Robin let out an offended huff and gently shoved at Malroths shoulder before they pointed towards the stick figures with a heart between them. They told Malroth that this was a family or friend type of love, how the two people send love into this space, where this heart is something that the other want to achieve. So if one person wasn’t able to achieve it on their own, the other would help them through shared affection. It was a bit more than that, they told Malroth, but they are only telling him the simple basics so he could come to his own conclusion. 

They pointed at the stick figures within a heart together and explained that these were what the miners felt for Babs. Other than focusing on Babs achievement or goals like the other type of love, they focus on Babs as a person. They care about how Babs feels and Babs opinions on things much more than friends or family would do as well as wanting to get close to them, with this deeper connection they also felt a much stronger urge to help the person achieve their goals and dreams. 

Malroth was listening intently to Robin and looked at the two stick figure pictures with a confused frown on his face.

“So… short version on all this? I don’t really get it…”

Robin let out a fond huff and erase the drawings in the sand with their hand before they stood up. They explained friends love as a ‘I help you, you help me’ while the closer Love was explained as ‘I help you be happy no matter the cost’. 

“Wait no matter the cost? Why would anyone go that far?”

Robin gently patted Malroth on the shoulder and gestured towards the miners who were gathered around Babs and talking to her cheerfully. They told Malroth that he’d just have to observe the miners and find the answer to that on his own. Malroth nodded and looked back to the builder, his arms crossed in a relaxed way.

“So then do you love someone like these numbskulls?”

They answer that they never have and most likely never will. Malroth nodded with a large grin on his face and shifted his shoulder so Robins hand would slide off it when he faced the builder.

“Good! Cause if you ever do and start acting like those numbskulls I’d have to knock some sense back into you, it’s what friends do right?”

Robin laughed softly at his logic to solving problems and nodded, replying that they were the  _ best _ of friends. 

* * *

Building a barricade of hard stone and weapons for everyone to fight with was a great asset to fighting off the monster wave that appeared at their town. They took down the monsters easily with everyone’s help and emerged victorious. Malroth had a genius idea for a super combo attack from the two of them where Malroth threw Robin in the air so the two of them could crash down with a large smash with Robins hammer. Robin wanted to call it ‘Robin and Malroths effortlessly graceful and decidedly deadly co-operative attack’ but when Malroth tried to say its whole name it decidedly got called by its shorter version ‘co-op de grace’. While Robin enjoyed their own name to the skill, they had to admit that Malroths version was much easier to say. 

They dug deeper into the mine, with the help of Goldirox who punched through the hard blocks, and found silver so they could work on the new and improved silver bar. It would have a lot more space than the previous copper bar and Robin knew it would be a huge project to work through, they drew the blueprint after all. Everyone got excited over the thought that Babs would dance once the pub was finished and it increased the villagers moral by a lot.

With another swing of the bell they now had a cocktail counter, base and card table at the new silver bar. More miners joined and the real hunt for silver had started. With the help of a peculiar bag monster and his brothers, Robin, Malroth and Dougie found three new silver veins to mine from and they were getting a lot of silver to power up Goldirox with. One brother was trapped under sand, the other attacked by monsters and the third stick very high up. They brought back an old woman, whose name was Ordelia, to the town, she had been down in the mines for the majority of her life. She talked a bit strange but that was understandable considering how long she had been down there alone. Robin also encountered a troll inside the mines to which the two friends managed to defeat, through that fight Robin got a great idea for a new weapon to Malroth.

Robin was playing cards with Babs, having convinced her to sit down for a bit, when another fight among the miners and Malroth started. Babs let out a fond sigh as she threw away one of her cards to pick up another new one.

“Those blokes, all they think of is ‘eir muscles.”

Robin reminded Babs that they also thought of her with a small smile aimed at the beautiful woman, placing down their cards. Dressed up in a bunny suit her beauty truly shined when she let out a giggle and she folds her hand as she had lost the games. This is the third time in a row that the builder had won. 

“Aye tha’ they do. They get excited ove’ the tiniest little thing. But they’re all good blokes, can’t help bu’ like their drive ya know.”

Robin agreed with Babs and glance over towards the fight, a small pleased smile spread on their face when they saw Malroth cheering so happily for the fight in the middle area that will become a pool. 

“Say Robin, wha’ do ya think?”

The builder got confused by the question and looked back towards Babs, tilting their head silently. She decided to elaborate when she gestured towards the base they had built for the silver bar.

“About all this. Da bar, da boys, this island, you came ‘ere to look for recruits so wha’ do ya think?”

Robin shrugged with a small smile on their face and told Babs that they liked this place. It’s always lively in a way that they weren’t used to and Malroth had found people who enjoyed showing off as much as he did. They also confessed that they weren’t much of a drinker, they didn’t really enjoy this diggers whatever drink, but they liked the aesthetics of the bar. They created the blueprint after all. 

“Ah that’s true… look I know I’ve been thanking’ you two a lot but you go’ no idea ‘ow much this all means to me and ma dad. So thank you again, Robin, really. If there’s anythin’ ya need just say it and I’ll help ya out, ok?”

Babs reaches forward and gently placed a hand on top of theirs with a warm, wide smile on her face. Robin nodded towards her with an equally large smile and said that they would do that. They were just happy to help build up hope in people, because that’s also something builders do. 

Before they could say anything more Digby suddenly burst forth between the two of them with his mask glaring at Robin. He sternly told them to keep away from Babs to which they only held up their hands in surrender to show they meant no harm. Babs was quick to end the one sided dispute between Digby and Robin to which Robin lost their card playing partner when she returned to work. Malroth took Babs' place at the other side of the table with a wide, teasing grin aimed at the builder. 

“What was that little interaction? You getting this ‘love’ for Babs like the other idiots?”

They raised an eyebrow at Malroth, leaned their elbows against the table with a very unimpressed look on their face. Malroth raised his hands in surrender much like Robin did earlier with a light hearted laugh.

“Kidding, I’m kidding! So you want to play a game of cards against the card master?”

Robin snorted at Malroths claim with a smile and picked up the card deck. They shuffled the deck with a nimble and practiced finesse, staring at Malroths amazed expression while doing so. It is only when they had dealt out the cards when they asked if he  _ really _ was the card master among the two of them. Malroth quickly got back to his senses and grabbed the cards with a determined expression and silently took on their challenge. The two of them played 5 games, to which Robin won all of them, before they decided to call it quits and go to bed. 

They liked this kind of schedule, work during the day and unwind during the evening and night. They would miss this kind of atmosphere once they got back home. With a private room built for the two friends they didn’t have to listen to the loud snores from the miners when they were going to sleep. 

A day or two later they found themselves alone at their favorite spot inside the mines so far, the underground lake. The way this lake glowed and eerily blue was breathtaking to the builder so when they could they also liked to use the navigator globe to get here and just watch the water. There are monsters around here, of course, but Robin always made sure to sit above the bridge where the least amount of monsters were. If it weren’t for the bell, they could sit there through the night and just watch the blue water gently bob along. If they had any type of fishing rod they would most likely fish while they sat by the lake but alas they had none. 

“You come here more and more often you know.”

When they heard their friends voice they simply shrugged and looked towards the chain Malroth was climbing up on. It was the easiest passage to their little spot and they patted the empty spot next to them as an invitation for their friend to sit down with them. He complied and the two of them sat in silence while Robin admired the blue beautiful lake. 

Robin told Malroth that they’re thankful towards the miners, that it was thanks to them that they could just sit here and enjoy this. 

“Hm? Why would you say that?”

They turned towards Malroth with a small smile and gently touched the cold water to their right, enjoying the cool feeling against their calloused hands as their gloves are off. They explained that they usually spent all their awake time building new buildings to improve the town, but through the miners they have learnt the importance of taking a break. To sit down, relax and gather energy to come out even stronger the next day. They’re thankful to have learnt that from them, or else they wouldn’t be sitting here and just enjoying the view. 

Malroth chuckled softly and looked out over the lake and leaned his elbows against his knees while leaning forward.

“I guess you’re right. Those guys really know how to work hard and party hard. I never really thought about it, how you’re always working on one thing or another until you said that just now…”

They agreed with Malroth quietly and let silence settle between them once more. Within this comfortable silence Robin reminded him about the memory of when Malroth caught them building through the night without having eaten anything and how he force fed them cabbages. This made Malroth laugh and grin widely at his builder friend, lightly tapping their shoulder with his knuckles.

“Oh I'd never forget that. You’re still stupid sometimes but that was beyond stupid, who forgets to  _ eat _ when they’re hungry?”

Robin replied with an ‘I do’ with a large grin in Malroths direction. In return they asked Malroth who pretended that their pumpkin mask was cursed to make him dance when really he was having a lot of fun. This made Malroth sputter in surprise before he settled on a fierce, angry expression despite the humor in his red eyes.

“Wha- it was cursed, I’m telling you! I couldn’t get it off!”

Robin hummed in disbelief and crossed their arms, a wide and amused smirk on their face. They asked who used a mirror every morning to compare his own muscles to the miners around him. Malroth narrowed his eyes on Robin and pointed a gloved hand into their face,

“That’s not true, I’m not comparing my muscles to anyone.”

Robin laughed and nodded, slapping Malroths hand away from their face using their removed glove before putting on said glove on their bare hand once more. They ask a last question on who their best friend is, which made Malroth straighten up proudly and point towards his chest.

“Oh that’s definitely me, it can’t be anyone else.”

When they asked if he was sure, Malroth actually pushed them off their perch and into the lake. This caused a loud splash to echo through the cave and when Robin emerged they were greeted by a loudly laughing Malroth sitting above them. They couldn’t argue with him when Malroth was so happy so Robin decided to laugh with him and swam towards the edge of the lake to climb up. 

He really was their best friend. 

* * *

_ On our way to find gold, we had to overcome challenges. _

_ We made it through together until the end. _

With the help of Malroth they got another even stronger technique to bash up blocks, without Malroth they would really be stuck at square one when it came to fighting techniques as Malroth himself had proudly stated. So they have smash and bigger smash that they could choose from depending on how many blocks they want to break, Malroth was really amazing at coming up with new fighting techniques.   


Finding gold was a difficult task since they had to find and fix a flute first. But with the help of Ordelia they at least knew where to start looking for it. They found a large, old temple built by the previous builder that Malroth and Robin searched through. As they entered the main chamber the two friends looked around at the large structure in wonder.

“This place is unbelievable… I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Malroth stepped forward with a large, excited grin at the adventure they have ahead of them and looked up into the ceiling.

“I’ll bet this place is full of secret rooms and deadly traps… this is going to be so much fun!”

Robin couldn’t help the amused snort from escaping them and joined their friend in looking at the enormous roof. That sounds about right with this large building underground. 

“Look at that, Robin.”

They looked at what Malroth was pointing at and notice that there are two statues. But a third platform where a statute should possibly be is missing one, it’s the same on the opposite side of the room.

“See the statues on either side? It looks like two of them are missing. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”

They nod silently and focused on Malroth, it did strike them as odd. The male grinned widely and clenched a hand in front of him in excitement. 

“I reckon the statues are hidden somewhere in these ruins. If we can find them and put them back on the plinths, it might open the way to a secret room or something. But where to start looking…?”

Robin nodded in agreement and looked behind them. They noticed one of the doors were unlocked and quickly gestured Malroth over towards it. The builder got praised for their finding, even if it wasn’t that hard to spot, and the two friends entered the room in search for the statues. 

After using magnet blocks to solve puzzles they managed to get keys and unlock doors to progress their exploration of the ancient temple. Robin got surprised by a mimic when they wanted to open a chest but Malroth was quick to subdue the creature so Robin wouldn’t be eaten alive. 

When Robin was fighting against a green drackie, the floor suddenly caved in under their feet and they fell down. Malroth reached out and caught Robins hand in their fall but the floor under his own feet also caved in and made the two of them fall down into the lower floors. Malroth ended up landing on the builders back and slowly rises up while he rubbed his sore head.

“Oof. We need to watch our footing-this place is a death trap! Where are we now-the basement?”

Robin was slowly opening their eyes when they could feel Malroth grab onto their arm and quickly hoist them up, which prompted the builders vision to sway back and forth from the sudden movement.

“Well, wherever we are, we’ve got company, get up!”

When Robin was able to take in the situation they got worried over the sheer amount of skeleton men that were rising up around them with swords at the ready. Malroth took out his club and gestured for the builder to get behind him with a fierce frown on his face.

“I’ll keep the boneheads busy-you try and find a way out of here! Go!”

They nodded and quickly ran through the closing gap of monsters in search for something, anything that could be an exit. They found a metal gate, much like the ones they have encountered previously in the temple thus far, but it was locked. Robin saw a sign next to it where it read ‘In this room are treasures three. But only one can set you free. Beware of those whom death become. Lest you be next to succumb.’ A poem clue like those they have seen regarding the puzzles. 

Treasures that must mean treasure chests. They could see skeletons flying all around the place when they turned around to look at Malroth, the main in question looked towards Robin. 

“Any ideas, Robin?!”

They shouted back that they have to find the right treasure chest and quickly ran forward to block a sword strike from a skeleton that would have otherwise cut into Malroths back. The male let out an amused huff and looked around the room while the two were now fighting off skeletons together.

“It’s hard to see anything with these ones in the way though… let's do our move!”

They nodded and changed their sword for their iron mallet as Malroth placed his hands on their middle section, threw them up into the air so Robin started to spin. The builder angled their hammer so Malroth would be able to step on it properly and the mans feet connected with their tool, with the help from both their spin, momentum, strength in their swing, Malroths weight and the force behind Malroths kick, a great shock wave came from their combined attack which threw all of the skeletons back. Some in scattered pieces but most of the skeletons were still intact.

“Run!”

Robin didn’t think but only followed Malroths advice to run and followed their friend as he ran through the broken line of skeletons. Robin could see more and more skeletons rising from the ground so the two friends didn’t have much time left in this death trap until they’d get overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. Robin found the first treasure chest between a pillar of sand and a pillar of stone and as luck would have it that chest held a key. They quickly grabbed it and told Malroth to make a way towards the door.

“Alright, here I go! I’ll destroy everything in our way!”

That powerful orange aura surrounded Malroth once more as he ran forward to meet the skeletons charge, Robin close behind him holding the key for their escape. With powerful swings of his club, Malroth created a path to the metal gate for the two of them and held back the skeletons while Robin opened the door. The builder dragged Malroth out with them by the collar of his jacket and the gate closed loudly behind them and trapped the skeletons inside. They still tried to reach the two friends with their weapons but were unsuccessful. 

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief and sat down, leaning their backs against each other while they took a small break. When Robin reached out a hand towards Malroth he gave the builder a low five with a quiet laugh escaping him.

“Wow that was intense. Great quick thinking from both of us. We should watch our steps from now on.”

Robin quietly nodded in agreement and let out a heavy sigh to calm their rapidly beating heart and closed their eyes as they leaned against Malroths back. Malroth hadn’t removed his hand from theirs yet but a comfortable silence settled between the two friends who had narrowly escaped death together once more. They asked Malroth if he got any injuries to break the silence to which they could feel their friend shake his head.

“Nah just small scratches, nothing that will hinder me. You?”

Robin also only had shallow cuts and said so to their friend. With Malroths hair tickling their neck they made a mental note on how soft it is, they suspected that his hair would be hard and pointy due to his destructive personality and the spikes his hair forms, but it was surprisingly soft. Robin had never touched Malroths hair, at least not without gloves, so noting this was a pleasant surprise for them. 

Once the two friends had rested long enough Robin got up on wobbly legs thanks to Malroth pulling on their hand and the two made it up the stairs back to where they are supposed to be. This time they took care to not walk on any heavily cracked floor pieces and made it through the first part of the ruins. A few more puzzles and they got the first statue with a key in a chest that led to the second part of the ruins. 

Once the second statue was retrieved in a similar way they placed said statues on the two podiums they are meant to be placed on. But when all statues came to life both Malroth and Robin became a bit worried. But thanks to Malroths quick thinking, that their hammer would be able to break the rock of these statues, the two friends managed to defeat all 6 statues and clear whatever that trap was. They shared a high five and Malroth noticed a glowing chest at the far side of the enormous room which must hold what they were searching for. 

And it did, they got the second half of the flute which Robin held up proudly for their friend. They shared a grin and quickly used their warp tool to warp right back to the surface where they could show the others their success. They got pointers from Ordelia on where they might find gold and when Babs once again gave them food because they were going down into the mine, Malroth leaned in to whisper into Robins ear.

“Psst Robin… Are you sure we can trust her? She’s always plying you with food. I think she might be up to something…”

Ordelia giggled when she heard Malroths whisper and said that Malroth didn’t understand a woman’s heart at all. But before the man could ask her to elaborate, the miners started to get pumped over gold to get the group on other thoughts. 

They shared a shrug with Malroth before the two did just that and wrapped to the south-east together. Once they came down underground, the two friends walked towards the end of the tunnel where Robin was planning on playing their new flute.

“What did Ordelia mean with that? I still think it’s weird that Babs always gives you food before we enter the mines…”

Robin shrugged and told Malroth that Babs want them to remember to eat while they’re down here. This made Malroth nod and grin teasingly at his friend while he crossed his arms.

“Right because otherwise you’d forget to eat and collapse or something. I guess that’s nice of her then.”

Robin take this opportunity to ask Malroth why they had never seen him eat even once during their time together, which made Malroth blink in confusion. They elaborated and told him that they had seen him drink a few drinks at the bar with the miners but never eaten anything. And they’re wondering if there’s a reason for that. 

“Huh… now that you mention it you’re right. Is that something that’s- well of course it’s weird everyone else does it.”

Malroth stopped which made the builder do the same, and the man looked down into the floor as he thought about their question. Robin was patiently waiting, they weren’t in a hurry to find gold when their friend had something troubling on his mind.

“I guess I just never thought that I had to eat? I don’t really feel weak or hurting like you are if you haven’t eaten anything, I don’t know. You think I should try it?”

Robin nodded with a wide grin and told Malroth how many different foods can taste great. This made Malroth smile and nod, a small smile spread on his face while he held out a hand towards the builder.

“Well let me try some of that signature dish Babs made then, that gotta taste good right?”

Robin quickly nodded and handed him a plate of meat and mushrooms and the two sat down on a nearby rock while Malroth tried it. He took a few bites of it and chewed with a thoughtful frown on his face but soon handed the rest of it to Robin with a small shake of his head.

“Nah that one wasn’t really for me. It doesn’t taste that much… guess eating isn’t really a thing for me.”

While Robin ate the rest of the steak, they told Malroth that they’d absolutely find a recipe that Malroth would like to eat, because they can agree that only meat and mushroom can taste pretty bland. Malroth nodded towards Robin with a wide grin on his face and held out a hand for a high five.

“Alright that’s a promise then! I’ll try any food you make and see if I like it or not. But only your food, I doubt anyone else could make anything better than you do.”

With a soft laugh, Robin nodded and gave Malroth a high five to seal that promise, with ideas for different recipients forming in their mind; they’ll make sure to find something their friend can enjoy to eat with everyone else. 

And after that small break the two went off in search of gold. With Dougie joining them soon afterwards of course. 


	5. Crumbling and crumbling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In where Khrumbul-dun reach its climax and they get back to the Island of Awakening, only to get into another problem.

_ We had a grand party and dance. _

_ But the dangers were still lurking around the corner. _

_ With the help of everyone present we managed to overcome it all. _

_ Together, for the ones we love. _

One gold vein by the old lift, another by the mushroom forest and the last one past many rock bombs by the south east tunnel they finally had enough gold to make Goldirox into a gold golem and finish the silver bar. They got help from a very friendly slime on how to find the gold they were searching for so it was greatly appreciated that the monster helped. 

They built a scenic shower room at Serge's request, to which they made sure to put the windows high up so no one could ‘sneak a peak’ while it was the women’s turn to shower. They also made a fancy dormitory to accommodate for all the miners who are working in the town. They had built a room for only themselves and Malroth, as they always do when they were able to, so the two of them would always have a bed to sleep on. But that couldn’t be said for the rest of the miners as many were sleeping on floors. 

They rang the bell once more and greeted miners, dancing girls and bartenders. Thankfully these miners didn’t fall for Babs like everyone else prior had but they fell for Goldirox and his shining silver form. The town was blooming with activity and the silver bar would soon be finished for the party. 

Malroth has tried some more food that Robin made but none of it here in Khrumble-dun suites his tastes so the two of them will continue to experiment once they return home to isle of awakening. Once Goldirox became a gold golem, Ordelia told everyone how Madusa, the one who turned Goldirox into stone, lives deep underground and is very shy. So they will formulate a plan to drag Madusa up to the surface and develop a weapon which they can defeat her with. 

But first they finished the silver bars structure to which everyone celebrated. Dan got touched so he was crying tears of joy and everyone were delighted, more so the miners and Goldirox due to Babs promise to dance. The excited mood died down when she immediately refused and said she wasn’t ready, but soon returned when they were determined to prepare everything for her big debut. 

So the builder was forcibly rushed by Digby and Serge to finish the stage for Babs by placing out boogie boards and making a sign using rare jewels, courtesy of Ordelias suggestion. Finding the rare metal wasn’t too difficult using the flute and a directional help from the friendly goodie bag monster. And once they gathered enough and made it back to the surface, Robin placed the new sign over the stage which made Babs delighted. So delighted she promised a private show for them in the future, for some reason they can’t phantom. 

A monster wave was pushed back and now it was time for the long awaited party during the evening, and while they all waited Malroth had a great idea that he suggested to the builder.

“Hey Robin! You still got those mine carts you made?”

The builder blinked in surprise and nodded before they took another bite from their breakfast, since they made the mine carts they’ve always made sure to keep them in their bag. They barely got to finish their breakfast mushrooms before Malroth grabbed Robins arm and dragged them towards the railing tracks with a large grin on his face.

“Let’s ride the tracks before the party! We’ve teleported for so long, it’s about time that we use them again. You didn’t build them only for the miners did you?”

Robin blinked at Malroths request but soon smiled at their friend with a nod and followed along without any complaint. Once they reached the two starting points Robin pointed towards the one furthest away, which is also the longest, while they looked at Malroth to see if he approved. The man nodded with his hands on his hips, excited over their cart trip that they haven’t done in so long.

“Of course! The longer the better right?”

With an amused laugh Robin put down two of the three mine carts they had made on the tracks and sat down in the one at the front. They looked back towards Malroth with a grin of their own when he sat down and the male nodded towards his friend. 

“Ready!”

Robin used the lever on the bottom of the mine carts to direct it and the builder slid down the slope of the rails with Malroth's cart connected to theirs behind them. They were delighted by the wind flowing through their hair as the two friends zoomed forward, and they shared a happy laugh between the two of them. No miners are down here today since there is a party being prepared for so Robin wasn’t worried that they’d crash into anyone. 

The two friends zoomed through the mines at a fast pace, bypassing all the stops since they wanted to reach the end of the track. What neither of them realized was that they were going  _ too _ fast so when they did reach the end of the track, the two carts came at an abrupt halt. Even though they saw the end, Robin wasn’t prepared for such an abrupt halt and thus didn’t hold onto the cart hard enough. They flew out from their ride head first and crashed onto the bridge with a groan in pain. 

Another rather heavy weight landed on top of them soon after they landed which made them cry out in surprise more than anything, they were sturdy and with their metal armour it absorbed the hit quite well. When Robin turned their head they could only see Malroths bushy hair as the man groaned in pain on top of them, both of them had been flung out and landed on the bridge. 

“Uugh… Alright… Not that fast next time…”

Robin couldn’t help but laugh at their friend but was unable to move due to his weight pressing them down against the ground. This muscled man was a bit taller than them and his muscle mass was nothing to scoff at. Malroth is heavy but they’re not one who would complain about that and possibly offend him. Their friend raised his head to glare at the builder with a happy twinkle in his red eyes, clearly in a good mood.

“Oh you think this is funny? It’s at least not  _ my _ fault that we crashed, maybe I’ll just stay here then, it’s surprisingly cozy.”

Robin tries to wiggle out from under Malroth but ultimately failed when Malroth put his arms on the builders shoulders to press them down against the ground once more. Robin couldn’t help but laugh at their friends antics and looked at Malroth the best they could while one of their cheeks is pressed into the ground. They told Malroth that the two of them would miss the party. 

“Well that’s too bad huh? Guess you should’ve thought of that  _ before _ you made us crash so hard we flew out. Guess we’re stuck here.”

They said that they had to be on the party because they had prepared a surprise for everyone. This piqued Malroth's interest as he tilted his head and rose up slightly from the builders back.

“Really? A surprise? What kind of surprise?”

Robin laughed and finally managed to shove Malroth off them and stood up, brushed some dirt of their armor and winked towards their friend with a cheeky grin. They wouldn't tell him or it wouldn’t be a surprise. This made their friend let out a grumpy huff while he stood up, but he had a small smile on his face so he wasn’t offended by it. Malroth only rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow towards Robin.

“So you won’t tell me, huh? Well alright, let’s go back then and prepare for the party. And let’s try to not crash like we did just now ‘kay?”

Robin laughed and agreed to that notion and the two of them rode along the track back towards the surface with shouts of glee echoing through the tunnels. Once they were back, Robin helped Babs make food in the kitchen while Malroth went off to play some darts with the other miners. 

Soon, evening came and with it the party. And Robins surprise for everyone, which started as a question from Babs, was that they will be wearing a bunny suit through the evening. They were a bit embarrassed to show so much skin but since only for one evening and Babs requested it they could put up with it.

Once everyone were gathered around during the evening, Babs started her Khrumble-dun Rhumba with two other burly miners which made everyone go ballistic with glee and excitement. Babs had changed her outfit and hair completely for the occasion and Robin had to admit that it suited her. Robin hadn’t joined at the front of the group yet but kept themselves to the back of the group, they were nervous to show themselves in a bunny suit so they’d rather approach the people there slowly. Of course, starting with Malroth. 

The builder walked up to stand beside Malroth and look at Babs dancing, and as if their friend could sense that it was  _ them _ , he started to speak in a thoughtful tone. 

“Huh. So that’s the Khrumble-Dun Rhumba is it? The thing those miners were losing their minds over? It’s… interesting, I’ll give it that. I might use some of those high kicks the next time a monster crosses my path!”

Once Malroth turned away from Babs dancing form to grin at the builder, he was taken aback by their change in attire. He pointed a finger at their face, mouth open wide as he exclaimed his surprise quite loudly. 

“Huh?! You put it on too?! Why though?!”

Robin coughs nervously into their hand and shrugged, looked up towards Babs and told Malroth it was kind of Babs request that they try it on for this evening. Malroth calmed down from his surprise after their explanation and he nodded thoughtfully while he looked them up and down with a thoughtful frown. This is when a few other miners have the decency enough to look away from Babs and notice the builders attire, to which they immediately exclaim their encouragement in the matter. Robin only smiled nervously towards them with a small nod. 

“Well I think it looks ok on you. I doubt Babs would be able to beat you if you were on stage too. But what are these horns?”

They couldn’t help but be flattered by Malroths blunt compliment and they let him touch the bunny ears placed upon their head with a wider, less nervous smile on their face; Malroth always made them feel at ease somehow. They explained that these are bunny ears, not horns. Like the ears on those Bunnycorns. This confused him more than anything and looked at the builders  _ real _ ears with a raised eyebrow. 

“But you already have ears, why’d you need a second pair?”

Robin only laughed and shook their head, gave Malroth a light pat on his shoulder and went off to greet the other people at the party. With the help of Malroth they got over the state of their attire and managed to enjoy the evening to its fullest. But all of it crumbled in a single moment. 

The moment when Babs suddenly turned into stone. 

Robin was on stage with Digby, Dougie and Malroth when it happened. A sudden earthquake erupted followed by a beam of light which enveloped Babs and left her as a statue. 

The party ended abruptly in tears for their fallen star and the morale hit rock bottom in a single moment. Babs was placed by Goldirox and everyone went to an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Next they proceeded to form a plan to defeat Madusa, a plan to draw her out with a flashy gold bar. They cleared space and set out the blueprint and with a determined glint in their eyes everyone got to work. While the villagers built the bar Robin and Malroth went out in search for dye, to make the gold bar as spectacular as possible. They barely defeated the slime king and their goons to receive the red dye and the blue dye was located by their favorite place, the underground lake. 

Robin stopped and looked over the lake for a few fleeting moments, wished that they could stay and look at the beautiful view for a little longer before they pressed onward. One of their friends were in trouble, she had turned into stone! This was not the time to rest like they had done previously. With the help of a slime they found the blue dye and took some with them and on the way back, Malroth gently placed a hand on their shoulder.

“Hey we’ll save her. We’ll beat up that Madusa when she appears, restore Goldirox’s strength, get Babs back and make the golden age return to this place. You should remember to take care of yourself too, we’re still pretty banged up after the slime king.”

Robin shook their head and turned to Malroth with a forced smile on their face. They can’t smile genuinely just yet, not when their friend is still in trouble. They told him how they didn’t want to lose someone like last time, that they want to hurry to make Babs better. This brought up the memory of Pastor Al for the two of them and Malroth nodded silently while he closed his eyes. He could understand what they mean, there’s a certain urgency to everyone now that Babs has turned into stone. But still…

“That doesn’t change that you should rest. You better go to bed early and eat breakfast before we go off to find some other thing you need. Or I’ll hit you on the head so you  _ can’t _ move.” 

This made Robin let out a snort in amusement and nod towards their friend, he does have a point, they shouldn’t push themselves too hard. But there is still a deep rooted worry in their heart that if they take too long Babs might not come back, but they should trust Malroths words and take care of themselves. He has never been wrong so far.

Once the second part of the bar was finished Robin followed through their promise to their friend and went to sleep. The next morning they immediately set down the third part of the blueprint and using the sketches in their book, they knew exactly what kind of material they wanted to search for next. 

Diamonds.

They also believe that they can construct a weapon or shield to reflect Madusa’s beams using diamonds so it’s very important for their cause. Jules, the goodie bag, was immediately interested and the monster suggested they blow their flute. And when they did Robin noticed that the diamonds were a lot closer than they originally thought, deep deep underground. And thanks to the powered up Goldirox, he could punch a hole deep underground so they could reach it.

So the two friends jumped down into the unknown. The atmosphere grew hotter and hotter the deeper underground they went and their windbreaker was doing a wonderful job at keeping their descent steady. however the wind breaker soon couldn't handle the heat that was emitting from the hole and it disappeared in a flurry of flames and sparkles, to which Malroth and Robin fell.

Malroth managed to land on his feet and caught Robin in their descent thanks to his fast reflexes. Both of them let out a sigh in relief and Malroth let the builder stand up on their own two feet.

“That was a big fall. You okay Robin? More importantly- who left the heater on down here? It’s absolutely roasting.”

They nodded and aimed a smile towards Malroth before they looked at their surroundings, it was all filled with lava. No wonder it was so warm down here, Robin doubted they would be able to handle their protective armor for very long in this heat, they were already starting to sweat heaps.  


“That must be why we fell-the windbreaker can’t handle the heat. I guess that thing is pretty useless down here. Well, we’ll just have to find those diamonds without it. Come on, let’s see if we can sniff them out!”

They nodded towards their friend once more and the two bound off towards the roasting lava. The are thankful for the dragon scale armor they managed to build, it made the heat a little more bearable thanks to its fire resistance, but simply touching the lava with their plated feet made their skin scorch under their protection. They couldn’t do much in the way the platforms were set up, so they did their best to avoid touching the lava as they jumped from platform to platform to get where they needed to go. 

It was when they were met with a sea of magma that they stopped and didn’t know how to proceed, and even in the tensest of moments Malroth still tried to lighten the mood.

“This magma looks pretty dangerous, wouldn’t you say? I wouldn’t fancy going skinny dipping in there, that’s for sure.”

Robin frowned at their friend and lightly hit his shoulder, this was no time for jokes but Malroth only shrugged and wiped some sweat off his forehead.

“But building a bridge would take forever. Maybe if there was a way to cool it down… Cause cooled down Magma hardens right?”

Robins eyes widened when Malroth said this and quickly took out their bottomless pot, of course! Water would cool down the magma and would give them larger platforms to walk on, why didn’t they think of that before? They were too caught up on the mission ahead of them and their own worry that they couldn’t think outside the box like they usually did. So they gave Malroth a large, warm smile, stepped forward and gave him a tight hug despite the fact that the heat made it increasingly uncomfortable.

But they didn’t care right now, they were just so relieved that Malroth was with them.

“Thank you, Malroth, don’t know where I’d be without you.”

The sudden hug made Malroth freeze up and Robin pulled away soon after to not make it uncomfortable for their friend. The man looked a bit unsure, scratched the back of his neck with a small frown aimed at Robin.

“Uh yeah, of course. Let’s go get those diamonds, yeah?”

Using the bottomless put to cool the lava the two friends made quick progress in crossing the lava landscape. They followed the guidance of braziers, trusting that the braziers would lead them where they need to go, and the two soon met large monsters who stood in the way of their path. Those lazer shooting tentacle monsters were no match for their teamwork and the two continued on with their quest. It was when they reached a large temple that Malroth and Robin stopped to look it over, to think that such a structure was built this far underground.

“woah… What is this place? I remember someone back at the base mentioning a forgotten shrine… Could this be it?”

Robin shrugged helplessly towards their friend and took a step forward to touch the pillar next to them, it feels old, like it has been standing here for many years but it has still endured the heat. What kind of material is this? Malroth took a step forward as well to stand next to Robin and he looked around with a small frown.

“But there’s something odd about this place… It feels strangely familiar… Kind of like I’m coming home… Huh? In there, Robin! Monsters!”

Malroth suddenly grabbed his club and pointed towards the center of the room, where two large monsters holding clubs were now stepping forward. Robin tensed up and brought forth their own weapon and the two of them hesitantly approached their enemies. Or at least what they thought were their enemies, if the monsters proved otherwise it would be a lot more beneficial for their cause.

“Humans!? You dare defile our unholy sanctum?”

Said the one on the left, the monster to the right raised their club and pointed towards Robin and Malroth both.

“Wait, I know you… You are the same sinful creatures who built on the surface. Wherefore do you still explore these caverns? I thought your hopes had been dashed when the great and glorious Underseer turned your shining star into stone!”

The two monster hit their clubs against the ground and the one to the left screamed out in rage while Malroth and Robin took a small step closer to one another with their weapons at the ready.

“It seems we must take it upon ourselves to deliver these fools to the abyss of despair they so eagerly seek!”

They raised their clubs to the sky and summoned a dragon and two robed mages to fight by their side. While the odds were against them, the two friends weren’t worried about this kind of fight. They’d make it through as long as they had each other.

And they did.

Sporting a few wounds from the dragons claws on their shoulder and sides, Robin and Malroth were victorious in slaying the beast. They barely managed to lift their hand high enough to perform a celebratory high five with Malroth but they managed. Malroth himself sported a few wounds on his arms and shoulder but he seemed much better off than Robin. Malroth grinned at his friend and let out a happy laugh from the fight they just went through.

“We did it! Sure showed them who’s boss around here.”

Robin could hear a splutter from one of the leader monsters, who still hadn’t disappeared in a plume of smoke, and the monster cursed them with his dying breath. Saying something about how the two of them shouldn’t have been able to defeat them and perhaps ‘weren’t of this world’ and that their ‘destiny was decided’ whatever that could mean. While Robin was frowning in thought of these monster’s final words, Malroth got another contact from that mysterious voice in his head.

They noticed how Malroth got confused and frustrated and as the voice called him the ‘mighty lord of destruction’, he turned towards Robin to give a quiet explanation to what’s happening on his end right now.

“That voice… It’s the same one I heard on the island…”

The voice sounded pleased, how Malroth destroyed monsters who apparently worshiped him, but this only made their friend even angrier as he screamed out towards the empty space around the two of them. He tried to find the source of the voice, but it was only the two of them down in this lava landscape.

“Give it a rest, will you!? I’m not the lord of anything! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Robin gently laid a hand on Malroth’s shoulder when his fists clenched together tightly in frustration, Malroth looked down to the ground as he listened to the voice and as the voice finished telling him how his fate was to save the world from salvation, that he couldn’t escape his fate, Malroth grabbed onto the front of his shirt as something pulsed within him in response.

“What the heck is going on?”

Robin took a slight step so they could stand in front of Malroth and tilted their head as a silent question if he was alright. Malroth simply shook his head with a slight smile aimed towards his friend, since he didn’t want to worry them anymore than he already was.

“Sorry about that, Robin. The heat down here must be addling my brain… I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Besides, we’ve got more important things to think about-like digging up some diamonds! Maybe if you play that flute around here, it might give us an idea of where to go next.”

They slowly nodded and let go of Malroths shoulder, but before they took out the flute they stared into Malroths eyes very seriously and reminded him of the analogy with the rope bridge. That if he ever needed support or someone who could listen, Robin would be there in a heartbeat. Because Malroth is important too. This made Malroth smile and nod, reached over and gently brushed away some sweat from Robins brow.

“I know, now blow that flute so we can get out of here.”

Robin nodded, albeit hesitantly, and blew into the flute so they could listen for where the diamond could be. they followed the sound to a wall behind the ruins and thankfully found a lot of diamond that they could use. They took any diamond that they could find before the two friends returned to the surface.

With the mysterious metal, golden bars and a diamond, Robin managed to craft golden gauntlets for Goldirox to use so he could reflect Madusa’s stone beams. They got praised for their building capabilities by everyone present and Robin simply smiled in response; they just hope it can be enough to save their friend. They invent the final touch to the gold bar, a goldinoggin to make it look like Goldirox, that will complete the look and hopefully draw out Madusa.

And drawing out Madusa they did.

* * *

_ We made it home and created a monument. _

_ We got attacked. _

_ As we tried to flee our escape was blocked. _

_ We had nowhere to go. _

Once they returned, all of their friends were at the dock to greet the new arrivals. What they didn’t expect was that three monsters were also apart of the welcoming committee, monsters who worshiped Hargon. They seemed harmless, but both Robin and Malroth got an uneasy feeling when those monsters appeared. Robin couldn’t believe their words of ‘only being here to observe’ but they let the monsters be as they haven’t done anything bad yet. Shane was the shamans name.

With another tablet activated, Robin called for everyone present on the island to help out with construction. While all the villagers worked on the pyramid blueprint they put down, Robin and Wriggley worked on the oasis to make the scarlet sands into a tropical resort. The pyramid would be a great structure that would stretch far up into the sky. 

That monster Shane observed all of their work quietly and Malroth made sure to stay close to his friend in case those children of Hargon tried anything. Robin eventually managed to relax and enjoy their building even with the trio of monsters around, Malroth did a marvelous job in calming their nerves whenever he was around. 

It’s when the first part of the blueprint is done that Shane and his two monster fellows approach the group. He seemed happy and nodded towards Robin. 

“Hey, man. Watching you build was a real jam, man! The blocks went down with a slam, man. It was like magic-alakazam, man!”

Malroth shifted a little closer to Robin with his eyes narrowed while the builder themselves nodded and smiled at the compliment. They got reminded of pastor Al once more, perhaps this monster isn’t as bad as they thought?

“You’ve got vision, man. Real ambition. I think I wanna be a builder too! The real thing-not a sham, man!”

They got surprised by this sudden deceleration and was about to gladly welcome the monster to their island before Shane sighed and shook his head sadly.

“But sadly, there’s another island we’ve gotta be at-orders from the man, man. Hey Robin… These dudes and dudettes can lay claim to this island all they like, but as far as I’m concerned-round here, you’re the man, man! We might be missionaries for the children of Hargon, but we won’t force you to believe-we respect your freedom, man. And now we gotta scram, man. Peace.”

Before Robin got to thank Shane for his kind words of encouragement, the three monsters teleported away with a flash of magic. Everyone were silent for a few moments, but Malroth interrupted the silence with a confused frown on his face.

“Weirdos. What did they even come here for?”

“Maybe they were telling the truth. Maybe not everyone in the children of Hargon is as bad as they say…”

Robin agreed with Magrog, thinking back to Furrowfield and Pastor Al, it’s true that not every monster are bad, there are some good ones as well. Now they started to feel bad for their earlier suspicion of Shane, he seemed like a nice person after all. Lulu was quick to deny this claim however and said that no member from the children of Hargon could be trusted but soon steered the conversation back to building the pyramid that still wasn’t finished. 

So with a nod and a cheerful smile on their face, Robin drew out the second part of the pyramid so everyone could get to work. 

They built bedrooms for the residents of scarlet sands, one neat n sweet and the other rough n tough where they weren’t assigned to a single person but many. It’s when these rooms are finished that Robin could feel someone gently touch their shoulder, to which they looked to their right and saw Malroth frowning uneasily in the direction towards the beach. 

“Hey, is it only me or does something feel… wrong?”

Robin silently tilted their head and focused on Malroth as he spoke, the man glanced between his friend and the beach while his body was tense. 

“I can sense monsters nearby, and I’m not talking about the wild ones that live here.”

Ordelia rushes forward with a worried expression on her face while she nodded furiously in agreement.

“W-We think you might be right about that, Malroth! Oh deary us! Oh deary, deary us!”

This made Malroths gaze harden and he took out his club, it wasn’t until now that Robin noticed the heavy rain and thunder covering the island which made everything a lot more ominous when Malroth faced the opening to the pyramid. 

“I’m going for a closer look. You lot follow me when you’re ready.”

He then ran away towards the beach. Robin frowned uneasily after their friend and brought out some iron swords they had made previously and distributed them to the Furrowfield fighters as they didn’t have as good weapons as the ones from Khrumble-dun. Lulu mumbled about how this had never happened before and who could possibly be behind this, but Robin ignores this and ran out after Malroth as soon as the weapons had been given to their new owners. They were worried, very worried that this weather came so suddenly and that Malroth ran off on his own. 

They’re a team after all. 

Once they reached the beach and stopped next to Malroth, they could see a large ship that was slowly sailing ashore. And once the fog has lifted slightly and they could see the person standing at the front of the ship, Robin clenched their hands tightly in anger and betrayal when it’s the same monster they recently believed was nice. 

Shane. 

He tried to be friendly but it was all obviously an act, an act to lower their guard. But seeing as they were preparing to attack their island, attack their home, it did nothing to still the anger in their chest. Malroth gently laid a hand on Robins shoulder as a silent message and support, they had to take a deep breath to calm themselves. He was right, getting angry like that would do no good in a battle. 

Everyone present prepared for combat against the children of Hargon. After a long battle they managed to fight off the first large wave of enemies but everyone sported wounds from the battle, some worse than others. Robin had gotten an large axe to the back and while the armour they were wearing stopped the weapon from carving through skin, they were still in a bad shape after the hit. They couldn’t stand straight anymore and they still had to protect their home. 

“Is everyone okay? The children of Hargon will think twice before attacking us again, that’s for sure!”

Robin smiled at their friends enthusiasm while they held onto their side in pain, all of them did well to repel the Hargon forces. But Robin doubt that they’d be much of a use in battle if another wave of strong monsters came ashore. And when Malroth stepped forward to help Robin stand up straight, everyone noticed that a new wave of large monsters were now walking up towards them with their weapons at the ready. 

Everyone grew worried at the larger, much stronger force since they were barely able to repel the last one. When they could hear Shane scream that Robin were the boss they couldn’t help but feel guilty that they were the cause for all of this. That their friends needed to get hurt only because they were a builder. But their friends were quick to defend Robin, shifting in front of them with weapons at the ready while screaming that Robin won’t be taken anywhere. 

Robin wanted to tell them to stop, that they’d leave as long as the monsters leave their friends alone, but no sound could escape them. They were simply too touched to speak due to the dedication their friends are showing. But when Digby told them to run Robin quickly shook their head and gripped onto their sword tighter. They wanted to fight, they couldn’t just leave everyone. This is when Lulu stepped in and placed her hands on Robins cheeks, she was scared, terrified, but more than anything she was worried for Robins safety. 

“No, Robin. You’re hurt, you have to leave! Malroth, you go with them! Head to the dock and set sail for another island!”

Malroth twitched when he was addressed and tightened his hold on Robins arm as he was supporting their weight, he shook his head in a similar way that Robin did and took a half step forward towards Lulu.

“But what about you?! We can’t just-“

“This isn’t the time to argue! Those monsters want to take Robin away from us-and if they do, we can wave goodbye to all our hopes and dreams! Just go!”

Lulu cut him off and pushed against Malroths back so the two would start moving away from the beach. Robin wanted to stay, they didn’t want to leave but they wouldn’t be able to fight with how their back was hurting. Malroth was in a similar boat but when he looked between Lulu, the monsters and Robin he came to a decision with a heavy sigh. He hoisted Robin up on his back while he addressed Lulu, not pleased over this decision but he knew that there wasn’t any better way with Robins current condition. 

“Fine, I’ll look after them. The rest is up to you guys! Let’s go to the dock, Robin!”

Without sharing another word with their friends, Malroth rushed off away from the battle carrying Robin on his back. They couldn’t do anything else than hold onto Malroth and hold in the whimpers of pain that want to escape them from their back wound. 

Why did it have to come to this?

Once they were far enough away Malroth used their teleportation stone to reach the docs and when they appeared Robins eyes widened in horror when they saw five skeletons were waiting here to ambush them. Despite being slowed down by Robins weight on his back, Malroth managed to defeat all of them and make the area safe once more. They felt useless, they could only swing their sword a few times to damage their enemies without risking that Malroth would lose his balance. 

Why did it have to come to  _ this _ ?

The hairy hermit came to see them off and wished the two of them luck, also to assure Robin that it was best that they left the island since the children were after them. The hermit also assured Malroth that the others would be ok and Robin believed him as well. It did reassure them, albeit only a little, since they didn’t want to run, but with the current circumstances they had no choice. So Malroth, Robin and brownbeard sailed off towards Furrowfield in hopes that they could stay there for a while and Robin watched their home slowly disappear in the thick fog. 

Why did this have to happen?

The ship rocked violently as they sailed through the thick fog and storm and they came to an abrupt halt. Robin was barely able to keep themselves straight with their back throbbing in pain and once the fog cleared slightly all occupants of their ship paled slightly when they saw what they had crashed into. 

A children of Hargon ship. 

Malroth was quick to jump into action, swung his club to clobber the bird monsters present. Despite their back throbbing in pain, Robin joined in as well and the two friends fought off the crew members on the Hargon ship. Malroth marveled in their victory and Robin was about to do the same when a birds laugh came from their boats direction. When Robin looked over they tended up all over again when they saw that Brownbeard was being held at sword point by one of the monsters on this ship. 

“S-Sorry, me harties… he took me by surprise.”

The bird monster laughed at Brownbeards meek apology and glared at Robin and Malroth. Two other bird monster came up behind the two of them and Malroth readied his weapon as he looked between the enemies present. They were trapped...

“Foolish human! You were so drunk on the taste of victory you forgot to check on your friend, waiting in the wings!”

“Joke’s on you if you think we care about him.”

The bird monster who held brownbeard hostage saw through Malroths bluff and told the two of them to drop their weapons. Robin glanced helplessly between brownbeard, Malroth and the monsters as they slowly lowered their weapon, they didn’t want to risk hurting brownbeard, the sailor didn’t deserve that. When Malroth asked if they should risk brownbeard to try and get out of this mess, they quickly shook their head and sheathed their weapon to their side once more. They couldn’t risk another person’s life like that. 

The monsters laughed happily when Malroth hesitantly went along with Robin and the three of them got captured. They were forced to hand over all of their equipment and materials and the monsters prepared to ship them away to somewhere. The monsters apparently knew exactly where they’d be headed once they saw Robins hammer and now dressed in nothing but their underwear, Robin, Brownbeard and Malroth all got thrown into a cell below deck. Malroth was pacing back and forth in front of the bars while Robin was sitting down with their back leaned against the wall.

“Well, this is just great. The others risk their necks to let us escape, and we end up getting caught anyway…”

Robin heard Brownbeards apology, as if it was his fault that they got caught up in this situation, but Robin couldn’t really pay attention as the wound in their back was acting up. They also silently wondered why only their clothes were taken and not Brownbeards or Malroths, and when they silently asked this question to their friend Malroth had no idea either. 

Malroth was the only one who was calm in their current situation since Brownbeard was scared like he’s never been before and Robin was sitting on the floor and tried to focus on anything other than the pain in their back.

“Chill out, Brownbeard. As soon as we reach land, I’ll smash our way out of this mess. For the time being, let’s get some shut-eye.”

Robin nodded and took a deep breath to try and calm their nerves, and while it usually works they couldn’t bring themselves to calm down. They were too worried about everyone back home and worried for their current predicament. Could Malroth really get them out once they reached land?

“Hey, Robin, how’s your back…?”

They opened their eyes and gave an uneasy smile to their friend, it certainly wasn’t doing good. With some coaxing from Malroth Robin turned around and showed him their back, and the reaction they got did nothing to sedate their worries.

“Wha-?! You’ve been fighting with this on your back?! You should’ve said something sooner!”

They could see Malroth rush towards the bars and scream out towards the ship angrily.

“Hey bird brains! We need one of those medical herbs you took from us, it’s important! Hey!”

While Malroth continued to try and get the monster crews attention Robin glanced towards Brownbeard with a worried frown; was it really that bad? The elder man gave Robin a small, hesitant smile while he settled a hand on their shoulder. He seemed a little pale but Robin was unsure if it was from their wound or from their overall situation.

“A-Ah I’m sure there’s nothin’ broken in there. But it does look heckin’ bad from here… The bruise covers your ‘ole back in black, blue ‘nd yellow.”

Robin shivered at the brief description and nodded before they directed their gaze towards the ground. Malroth continued to scream angrily how they needed a medical herb pouch and despite needing rest they couldn’t bring themselves to close their eyes.

Why did this have to happen?


	6. Skelkatraz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Malroth and Robin stay in the prison island Skelkatraz

_ To be locked into a prison wasn’t a joyful experience _

_ But we pushed through. _

_ As a team we made it outside again. _

_ Back to our friends. _

They sailed for three days and three nights and on the fourth night they made it to port on a small island. The three of them were separated and both Malroth and Robin underwent a through body search before they were thrown into jail cells where the friends were separated by a wall. The first day the morning bell rang, Robin had barely gotten a wink of sleep and with their back still hurting from their untreated wound. But Robin stayed strong and stepped out from their cell, back straight despite the pain running through their back.

It was a very large prison and along with the two friends there were 5 others part of their ‘block’ who were there. The first thing they heard were words of sympathy from one of their jailmates when Robin and Malroth both were noticed…

“Silence, you! You know the rules-unless you’re praying for forgiveness or begging for mercy, you keep those jawbones clenched! Now get yourselves to the yard for roll call or it’s off to the Hole with you!”

The skeleton guard shouted, to which all the other imprisoned people quickly ran past Robin and Malroth towards the yard. Robin walked up to Malroth and gently laid a hand on his shoulder, as a silent question if he was alright; they didn’t know what this Hole was but judging by the other people’s hasty reactions it must not be a good place. Malroth turned towards Robin with a small nod and smile, reaching up to gently pat their hand in return.

“Good to see you again, partner. This place is pretty swish, huh? We’ve got separate bedrooms and everything. Still I do wonder what happened to Brownbeard…”

The skeleton noticed the two of them speaking in hushed voices, or more like Malroth speaking in a hushed voice, and told them to get a move on towards morning call. They were also told that they’d have new names in this place, 6207 and 6208, to which Robin frowned in distaste. Robin dragged Malroth off in the direction they were supposed to go and as they were walking, they let go of Malroth’s arm when their friend walked up next to them.

“That guy’s already getting on my nerves… Well, whatever. Let’s just do what he says and follow the orders for now.”

Robin quietly agreed and looked around as they walked through the lit up stony hallway, this prison was making them uncomfortable. The overall atmosphere is so gloomy that it was hard for Robin to put their usual smile on their face. But they took a deep breath and reminded themselves that Malroth is still here beside them, that thought alone was enough to make their usually calm smile appear on their face. As long as they’re working together they’ll figure out a way to get out.

Once they arrived at morning call, the skeleton there immediately told them off for being late, despite that they weren't that far behind from the others. They were supposed to start a day of rehabilitation, whatever that meant, and when Malroth tried to ask what the group were going to do, he was told off immediately. Speaking wasn’t allowed at this place, but that didn’t scare their friends as he only took a step forward.

“Agh, stop the high-and-mighty act, will you?! I want to know where we are and why!”

The skeleton only laughed at Malroths anger and Robin placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to keep Malroth from saying anything that could get them into trouble.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Now away with the both of you! You’ve got a long day of rehabilitation ahead of you-any funny stuff and it’ll be off with your heads!”

Malroth let out a frustrated groan at the vague reply and stomped off to where the other prisoners went, leaving Robin to catch up with him with hurried steps.

“Gah! Why won’t anyone around here give me a straight answer? Come on, let’s go see what the other prisoners are up to.”

All prisoners of block three were assigned tasks related to farming to which Robin also got a similar task. They were supposed to plant cabbage seeds in tilted soil. Robin wasn’t shy to tell anyone that they were a builder, they saw no reason to hide it in any way, and that knowledge had mixed reactions between the prisoners present. Malroth once again tried to get answers from the overseer but was, again, shot down. Their friend followed Robin as they started to plant the cabbages and Malroth looked around at the other prisoners who are present. One is refusing to destroy a statue, another two were tilting fields while a fourth just finished tilting the field Robin and Malroth were approaching.

They simply did the task asked of them with a small smile, imagining that they were planting the seeds for their friends, and returned to the overseer once the task was done. Malroth said nothing during this, only loomed behind them like a protective shadow. The overseer spoke positively about building, how it fills people with joy and anticipation, and when Malroth once again tried to ask what their deal was the overseers two clubs smashed the spaces next to Malroth as a threat. Robin quickly pulled Malroth back with a slight frown, watching the overseer uneasily. This place is really giving them the creeps…

After the threat of the Hole was once again given, Robin got another task to get more cabbage seeds from someone named 784. They’d be sure to ask that persons real name when they talk to them. Even though Robin despised their number name they already got addressed by it from the guards, but they just had to bear through it until Malroth and Robin could get out. They met Molly, a kind old woman, and got the seeds needed for the farm to plant them and continued on with their day.

Thanks to Molly, they now knew that they were on Skelkatraz, a prison island used to rehabilitate anyone who goes against the children of Hargon. Apparently there had been people who tried to escape but ultimately failed. Molly had been there for 40 years already and Robin quietly wondered how she can still seem somewhat sane after staying here for such a long time, but never asked that question loud enough for the old woman to hear.

Robin knows that neither they or Malroth would fall for this rehabilitation that occurred on this island, because they would bust out from this prison as soon as they could. With the seeds planted, praise received and an empty promise to break a builders drive to build, they spend the rest of the day doing countless odd jobs in complete silence. Where they were used to the sounds of laughter and talking around them, the silence felt crushing on a whole other level. But they managed to keep a smile on their face because they had hope, they knew Malroth and Robin would make it out of this prison in one piece.

They received cabbages for food that evening, cabbages which they didn’t want to eat without their friends, and when Malroth received his cabbage he was quick to give it to Robin with a small grin.

“I can do without for a while. Here, Robin you should have mine.”

They tried to protest but Malroth had already shoved the cabbage into their arms before they could say anything. The skeleton guard standing in front of them crackled softly when it looked at Malroth.

“Oh my. Is it possible there’s not a single bad bone in your body? How nice of you! You know what being nice gets you around here? It gets you no dinner-that’s the last cabbage you’ll be seeing for a while!”

While that would have been a dreadful thought for any normal human, Robin also knew that Malroth didn’t have to eat to stay healthy like Robin did. So when they were ushered off towards their cells by the guard, Robin gently touched Malroths arm to get his attention and thanked him before they put away the cabbages to eat them tomorrow, a small smile aimed towards Malroth.

“Hey no worries, you need food more than I do. But wow, was it just me or did today feel like it was never going to end? And there’s one thing I still don’t get-why are the children of Hargon making us plant stuff? I thought they were dead against any kind of creation… Old lady cooks-no-more said they wanted the prisoners to abandon their love for creation and follow their ridiculous teachings, but this seems like a bad way of going about it…”

Robin nodded in agreement and told him that there was no point in wasting time wondering about it, that they should focus on a way to get off this island. Malroth quietly agreed and said how the others must be worried, the two friends got closer and closer to their cells with a small pit of unease growing in Robins stomach.

When they were supposed to go separate ways, Malroth gently touched Robins arm with his knuckles.

“I’ll say goodnight, then. I’m in the next cell over if you need me and don’t worry about a thing, okay? That said… what the heck happened to Brownbeard?”

They were about to reply, not certain just what they would reply with, when the jailer interrupted them and made them get a move on towards their cells. They sat down and leaned against the wall that separated themselves and Malroth for a few minutes once the door got locked, arms wrapped around their dirty clothed knees and stared at the floor. They knew that he was right there, just past the wall, but this is the second night since Robin and Malroth met that they hadn’t shared a room with one another.

They expected Malroth to walk through the cell door with an easygoing grin on his face or for Malroth to already sit beside them. But he wasn’t and that made this whole place feel even more alien than any other place they had ever seen.

And they had never felt more alone in their entire life.

They were soon forced to sleep due to the exhaustion in their body, but they didn’t use the straw bed, rather stayed as close as possible to the wall separating themselves and Malroth. This routine repeated the second day by watering the crops and on the third day it started to rain so they were forced to clean their cell block. 

On the fourth day Robin woke up just as unrested as they had been since they were put on this island, none of their nights had been filled with a good sleep and it was slowly draining their energy. They went to morning call with everyone else and struggled to keep their eyes open when the skeleton shooed them off towards their field, Malroth had to lead them along as the two friends went along with the orders.

“Hey Robin, are you ok..? you don’t look like you’ve slept for ages…”

Robin confessed that they hadn’t, that the cell just felt so empty on their own that they couldn’t sleep. Malroth was quiet as they passed the skeleton guard and tightened his hold on Robins arm slightly, but Robin didn’t have enough energy to look up at their friend to notice the worried frown he aimed their way. Malroth had to admit that he also had a tough time sleeping but little sleep didn’t really affect his physical state. But Robin almost looked like a zombie with those large bags under their eyes and their sluggish walk.

“Just hang in there for a little longer, we’ll figure something out and we’ll be off this island before you know it.”

Robin straightened their back slightly when he said this and gave their friend a small nod, they were getting off this island soon, they knew it. But Robin just missed having someone sleep next to them, someone who made them feel safe and protected. But here there is none of that, only despair and uneasiness.

The next task the builder was given was to burn down the haystack in the middle of the field all prisoners had worked so hard to grow. They didn’t want to do it, but they couldn’t refuse. So looking at all the prisoners sadly, they lit the haystack on fire, stepped back and watched as the cabbages all burst up in flames in front of them. While the other prisoners wailed in despair over the loss of great food, Robin and Malroth were quiet. Malroth enjoyed it to some extent, only didn’t like how it made the others around them lose hope, while Robin simply viewed destruction in a different light.

Destruction gives way for creation, they just have to plant new cabbages since these ones got burned up. They told this to the overseer and the two friends were then given the rest of the day off to reflect on what they had done. But Robin doubted they’d do any of that, the two would try to formulate a plan to escape, they were certain of this.

When Malroth and Robin had walked away from the people crying in despair over burnt cabbages and the overseer, Malroth frowned angrily in the direction of the clubbed monster.

“Who does that wack job think he is? Making you plant a load of cabbages and then burn them… Three full days you spent growing those! Three full days! And for what?! I’ve had it up to here with the children of Hargon! They made everyone’s lives a misery on Furrowfield and Khrumbul-dun, and now it’s the same story here! What’s their problem!?”

Robin was quiet during his angry rant and once Malroth was finished, he let out a heavy, tired sigh and scratched his head with a displeased frown. Many things weren’t right with this place…

“I bet that old biddy who gave us the seeds knows what they’re all about. Come on, let’s go talk to her!”

The builder nodded and followed Malroth as he made his way towards the storage room old Molly usually was. When they approached, Molly simply gave them a tired and sad smile and asked if they had already burnt their cabbages, as if she knew it would happen. She explained that it’s what they do, make you see how futile your attempts at creation are if it can be destroyed so easily; that creation will only lead to suffering in the end.

Robin couldn’t pay attention to the conversation between Malroth and Molly as they discussed how someone could escape, who Hargon was and the source of these monster’s worship. It wasn’t until Malroth gently shook their shoulder that they focused on their surroundings once again and they looked up to see their friends concerned face in front of them.

“Hey, let’s get you to the bench so you can take a nap ok? You look ready to fall over any second.”

Robin nodded quietly to his suggestion and let Malroth lead the way towards the bench, Robin immediately sat down on the furniture when they could and let out a weary sigh. They could feel their body slowly relax when Malroth sat down next to them and as they leaned their head against his shoulder, it felt like they were back home again. Back home where things were more cheerful, peaceful and where there weren’t hopeless faces wherever they looked. 

It wasn’t long before they fell into a deep slumber thanks to Malroth’s calming presence, and despite the prolonged contact being uncomfortable for him, Malroth didn’t say a word. Rather when he saw how relaxed Robin became when leaning against him, he didn’t want to push Robin away. So instead he looked onto the wall in front of him while his friend slept, brows drawn together as he was trying to think of a way to escape this prison. Because there has to be a way to escape, the two of them can’t stay here.

Robin woke up from the evening bell and felt much better rested than they’ve done since arriving at this rock. So Robin thanked Malroth for letting them sleep as they made their way back towards their cells, to which Malroth grinned happily.

“Well of course, you seriously needed it because you looked dead on your feet. And don’t worry, we’ll find a way to get off this stupid rock soon, I can guarantee it.”

Robin nodded and bid Malroth goodnight before the two separated and went to their respective cells. The next day Malroth and Robin started with their escape plan for real, once they had free time the two of them went to Molly for information and made friends with a slime with some help from the prior cook, a slime who could help them escape if their words were to be believed. Having the slime hide in their clothes was not a comfortable experience however, far from it, but if it meant they had a chance of escaping Robin would power through it.

As the two friends sat down on the bench to wait for evening to fall, Robin glanced towards Malroth deep in thought. They were very thankful for their friends presence and Robin doubted they would be able to find a way off this island on their own. But there is this thought that had been nagging at the back of their head since a few days ago, a question that they should ask Malroth now when they have the chance.

“Hm? What is it Robin?”

They looked away from Malroths questioning gaze and frowned towards the floor, uncertain as they fiddled with the rags they wore. They asked Malroth if they were depending too much on him.

“Too much? What do you mean?”

Robin tried to explain it but it was hard to put into words, that Malroth was always there for them, helped them with anything they were trying to achieve that they are now almost dependent to have him near. So they ask again if they were relying on him too much, that it felt like Robin barely gave anything in return and how they are constantly on edge without him there. Their uncertain rambles were cut off when Malroth gently tapped his knuckles against Robin's head, which effectively got their attention as they looked up at his smiling face.

“Now you’re overthinking things. We just said that self-reflexion were for idiots. I don’t mind helping you, Robin, it’s the opposite! I’ve had a great time helping you help Furrowfield and Khrumbul-dun, I’ve got tons of friends thanks to you so I think I’m getting a huge package deal for helping you out like I am. Besides, we’re friends. We’re supposed to help each other right? The fact that you’re relying a lot on me is a sign that you trust me, it’s all good things!”

Robin nodded slowly to his explanation but there was still a small part of them that were uncertain if this was really fair towards him. They wanted to help him just as much as he was helping them, but the only thing that seemed to trouble Malroth was the voice that sometimes spoke to him in his head. And Robin didn’t know how they could help with that… So instead they asked if it all really was ok, Robin was always the one who got all the credit while Malroth helped the town just as much as they did. They were once again met with a light knock to the head as Malroth frowned at them, he shook his head with determination and crossed his arms.

“Listen here, I’m the guy who destroys stuff, but it was your buildings that gave them hope! Of course you should have all the credit, I’m only a small part of it all. So stop thinking about that kind of stuff and think instead of how we can get off this island, there’s nothing for you to worry about ok?”

Robin let out a heavy sigh as they nodded once more, replied with a small ‘okay’ in return and decided to take a nap leaning against Malroths shoulder like last time. Malroths determination is truly remarkable, even the builder themselves were having a hard time concentrating on the task ahead with so much uncertainties and misery around them. A voice in the back of their head was still uncertain of their attachment to Malroth, that this type of attachment could be unhealthy in the long run with how much they are depending on his presence.

Malroth was always there for them, he was always a person they could turn to and a person they could trust. But Robin felt like they weren’t giving him enough in return, that they only take and take but never gave anything back. Was it really okay for them to depend on Malroth this much?

Once they returned to their cell, Robin let the slime out from their clothes and the plan got set into motion. Under their bed there was only soft sand covering the floor so they could easily break it apart and stepped into the room below them. It was apparently a room Gottfried, the slimes former partner, made when he tried to escape. And now the builder could use these tunnels to formulate their own escape, though plunging their hand into a used toilet was far from pleasant for them. With hope once again blossoming in their chest, Robin managed to find Brownbeard among corpses, because the monsters here thought he was dead, and they had a feeling that their boat was still on this island that they could use. So with the plan getting in motion Robin managed to have a slightly better night’s sleep than they’ve previously had. 

As the next morning comes and another morning call is ensued, all monsters are displeased because they apparently found a book that shouldn’t have been in the prison. When only silence met the overseer when he wanted a confession on whose book it was, he gave them all free time to ‘think’ to which Robin would be able to relay what had transpired the other night to Malroth. Their friend grinned happily at Robin and nodded.

“Seems like no one noticed what you were up to last night, for a moment there I thought our jig was up. Glad that wasn’t the case. Why are these guys getting all hot and bothered over a book of blue prints, anyway? It’s not like we could make anything big without them noticing…”

Robin had to cough in their hand and look away from their friend when their cheeks grew a little warm. Considering what the miner said the day before and how they have heard of a book of blue prints, they highly doubt it’s a book of blueprints like Malroth think… and that type of innocence coming from such a violent guy caught them off guard for only a few moments as their friend asked Robin what happened the night before. And once they moved to a more private place by the storage area, Robin was quick to explain what happened. Malroth nodded with a thoughtful frown throughout their explanation and once they finished he expressed his jealousy that he wanted to explore too. 

They heard a commotion that someone didn’t want to clean the crematorium to which Malroth volunteered that the two of them would clean it instead. It was just what they needed to escape from the underground tunnel after all. 

Cleaning out the bones wasn’t hard, it only made Robin a bit uneasy since they knew these were humans prior. They deliberately left the door unlocked, since it would lead the way to their escape in the future, and they noticed how Malroth was deep in thought after their assignment was done. When the two of them returned to the fields it was just in time to see the other prisoners on the floor as if they were recently punished and the overseer shouted out a final warning towards the prisoners to reveal whose book it was. 

“Uh, Yeah, about that… What would you say if you found out that book was mine and Robins?”

Robin was taken aback by Malroths sudden claim and heat flooded to their cheeks once more, Malroth must have had a plan but Robin never had one of those books ever! Robin was very shocked and confused as the overseer sent them to the hole for their claim but they didn’t have time to ask Malroth why he said that. 

Robins clothes and things were once again confiscated from them and the two friends were thrown down into the damp and dark underground of the prison. Robins back was still hurting and they were hoping to use some of those medical herbs they found by the incinerator on their back that night, but since everything was taken it’s something they’d have to do later. 

“Not exactly the softest landing… You alright, Robin?”

Thankfully they landed on their side rather than their back so they stood up with a small nod directed towards their friend. And when they turned around both of them gaped at the sheer size of their troll caretaker. A caretaker who seemed very delighted at the thought of smashing the two into bits with his large club. 

Malroth was quick to grab Robins arm and pull them away when the troll tried to smash them and the two ran over towards the closest cell. Thankfully it was empty and unlocked so Malroth dragged Robin inside and the cell door closed behind them. It was even colder in this cell than it was out there and Robin started to shiver as they looked back towards the form of their caretaker. 

“Lucky you! That’s one of the best suites the Hole has to offer! Enjoy your time down there-it should help you realize just how nice your old cell was!”

The troll then locked their door and stomped away, which made Robin release a sigh in relief that they managed to escape death once more. The prison cell stank heavily from swamp residue and there were metal spikes littered everywhere but the middle of the cell, Robin couldn’t see how this was a nice suite in here.

“Grr… I’ve had it up to here with them messing us around…”

This is when Robin asked why Malroth said the book was theirs while they tried to rub some warmth back into their arms. 

“Oh well you’ll see soon enough. We just need to sit and wait for them to let us out of here…” 

Robin let out a sigh and nodded while they looked around the cell once more with a frown, they couldn’t see how they would be able to sleep in such a cold and stinky place. 

“This place is dark, damp and dingy… I love it! Just the kind of place to give you nightmares…”

They couldn’t help but let out a snort in amusement towards their friend, a small smile growing on their face. He really has a way to brighten up any situation he’s in… the two of them could distantly hear the hammerhood speak nonsense not too far away, apparently they were supposed to be afraid of the monster. 

“Well anyway let’s get some shut-eye. We can think more about how we should perform our escape in the morning. And for some reason… I feel weirdly at home here… maybe I’ll actually be able to get a decent night's sleep for once!”

Robin let out another soft snort and sat down in the middle of the room, curled up into a ball to try and bring some more warmth to their body. Malroth crouched down next to them and they could feel him carefully touch their still sore back.

“Hey is your back ok? And why are you shivering?”

They told Malroth that their back is still pretty bad and that they were cold because of the lack of clothing. They just weren’t used to it, that was all. And before they could really register it, they felt a piece of fabric draped over their shoulders and when they looked, Robin could see the familiar jacket Malroth wore is now on them. 

Malroth surprised them once more when he pulled them down to lie down next to him, shoulder to shoulder so Robin would be able to feel some of the heat that radiated off their friend.

“Is this better?”

Robin nodded with a small smile and shifted a little closer to him as they managed to let their body relax. Despite thinking that this dungeon would be impossible to sleep in, they managed somehow now that Malroth was sleeping next to them. 

Malroth was the first to wake up, confused over the dream he had and the words spoken in it. But those thoughts were pushed to the side when their numbers were called out that they were free to leave. They had a brief meeting with the crazy hammerhood before they left and Robin immediately felt that they wanted to be the hammerhoods friend rather than take the hammer like Malroth suggested. 

So they found out where the key was and returned to the fields to have a talk with Molly. They figure out how to create monster munchies for themselves and they managed to create a hammerhood decoy they could use so the guards wouldn’t notice that the hammerhood was gone. They got work to fill up holes in the guard towers which gave the two friends a great vantage point to see how they could get into the Hole during the night. They got the book of blue prints from one of the prisoners and when Malroth asked to look through it Robin quickly declined. Because that kind of book was not something for Malroth to see. 

And now when a plan was set, Robin put it to motion once night fell. With the advice from the other jailers Robin went up top and entered the Hole through the roof. They were nervous, extremely so when the hammerhood wanted to fight, but they somehow pulled through with the help of their new slime friend. The way back was a lot more tense than the way they took to the hole, since now they had to get through the guard patrols instead of over it all. Robin almost got caught a few times but by retracing their steps they managed to make it back underneath their cell. 

The next morning Robin got startled by a sudden cell inspection, they smiled and nodded towards the skeleton who entered as if nothing was wrong and took a step back as the monster inspected the cell. They were confident in their building skills so nothing was different about the cell from when they got here as the straw bed was still placed over the sand placed on the floor. When they met Malroth outside the cell after the inspection, he had a wide grin on his face and talked in a hushed voice.

“Great poker face pal. Still it can’t be a good sign that the chief inspector’s shown up. We’ll have to be extra careful now she’s on the scene. Anyway, spill the beans: what did you get up to last night? Is the hammerhood inside now?”

Robin had the two of them walk along towards morning call and told him what happened and how they have to solve the next problem, that they had no way of telling the hammerhood where to dig. Before Malroth could reply the guard called out to the two of them.

“You two have been way too cozy as of late, you should learn who’s in charge around here. Let’s see… Ah! I know! Some time apart should do the trick! 6208-as of tomorrow, your bony butt will call cell block two your home!”

The two friend stopped and turned towards the caretaker and Robin reflexively grabbed hold of Malroths arm. But if he was moved, Malroth wouldn’t be able to escape with them, that’s-

“What?!”

“Make the most of your time together, because come tomorrow, you boneheads will never see each other again!”

Malroth was tense once the caretaker said this and he grabbed hold of Robins hand so he could drag them off towards morning call at a hurried pace. Robin stumbled after him, their mind almost derailing into panic at the thought of getting separated from their friend; this can’t be happening. 

“Let’s get moving, Robin. Looks like it’s now or never.”

Robin nodded quietly and followed along, shifted their shoulders to try out how their back felt; with the medicinal herbs they found and smeared on their back with the help of brownbeard last night it was a lot better. What many nights of sleep hadn’t healed one dose of medicinal herbs almost completely healed it overnight. So with their body better and a goal in mind to escape that night, Malroth and Robin prepared for their day. After a talk with Molly, they created bashing signs for their hammerhood friend, got an interesting story from the old lady and as they once again sat down at the bench to wait for nightfall as Robin held onto Malroths wrist. 

They were nervous, of course they would be, because if anything went wrong tonight then the two of them would never get their freedom. And they would never be able to escape together either, that would be the worst part of it all. Malroth shifted so their gloved hands were intertwined and gently squeezed Robins hand in reassurance with a wide smile on his face.

“It’s going to be alright, we’ll escape tonight ok? There’s nothing for you to worry about, Robin.”

They nodded slightly to Malroth and took a deep breath to try and calm themselves. They knew this, they knew that they’d be able to escape but the worry was still there. The worry that they wouldn’t be able to escape together. Everything was laid out, their plan was solid, but despite everything their nerves were stretched out into a thin thread that could snap at any moment. They gently squeezed Malroths hand back and nodded a second time, as long as the two of them worked together they would be able to accomplish anything. 

Night fell, they got locked into their respective cells and the plan got into motion. They freed Malroth first and he fell down and barely landed on his feet when the hammerhood smashed through the wall. Robin let out a quiet sigh in relief when they saw Malroths cocky smile and the man lightly punched Robin in the shoulder.

“Took you long enough!”

Brownbeard expresses his joy that Malroth was safe and the two shared a handshake as Malroth said the same to their captain. So Robin led the group through the tunnels and placed smashing signs on earth blocks in hope to find an exit. They finally did find one through the sewers and after defeating and befriending a zombie monster they finally made it so they could see the outside world. But between them and their freedom stood the inspector…

She had been waiting for them and planned everything out from the beginning apparently, only for the inspector to appear and crush their hopes completely. But Robin and Malroth were determined and despite not having weapons they along with brownbeard and their three monster friends managed to defeat the inspector and clear their way towards freedom. Robin found their bag with all of their belongings on the inspectors person. Malroth laughed happily and swung his large club around with a wide grin on his face.

“That’s what you get for messing with Malroth and his pals, punk!”

Robin laughed and shared a high five with their friend, the feeling of worry disappeared from their shoulders as they faced the wall separating them from the sea. Holding up their hammer, Robin broke through the hard blocks easily and the three humans had to say goodbye to their monster friends as they sailed home towards the isle of awakening. As they sailed off, where Malroth sat on the bow of the ship like always, he grinned widely towards Robin with a happy sparkle in his eyes.

“I told you there was no reason to worry! We cleared it without a sweat! But you know, the more I think about it the weirder that place was. We heard our share of strange stories and I had one heck of a dream to boot. There was that thing molly said about the world being shrouded in Hargon’s lies, even though he’s dead… And those monsters praying for him come back… And then there’s that voice I hear every now and then… could it be-“

The ship rocketed violently which almost threw Malroth off the boat if Robin hadn’t reached over to catch him. They laughed as Robin pulled Malroth back up onto deck and they told him that Malroth shouldn’t worry too much about what ifs or hows. That the important thing was that they were going home to see their friends. They also asked if he had forgotten that self-reflection was for idiots.

“Heh, yeah you’re right about that. Sorry Robin, a lot just happened. Let’s focus on getting back home.”

Robin nodded and settled a hand on Malroths shoulder with a wide smile and told him that they would always be there for him if he needed it, and that he should remember that if he ever wanted to talk. They didn’t get a reply in return but the happy smile Malroth sent their way spoke volumes more than simple words could

They really were a great team. 


	7. Coming home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where they return home after Skelkatraz

_ Something was different about you. _

_ Something that barely anyone noticed. _

_ But I did, I always noticed. _

_ Because you are my best friend. _

The welcoming committee was in the form of a worried Lulu once they returned. She scolded them for being so late, but Malroth simply laughed and said he would never let anything happen to the builder. Robin was flattered by her worry and once Lulu's anger had subsided, the builder stepped forward and hugged her tightly; Robin was really worried for all of them when they and Malroth left, and seeing Lulu right in front of them made the uneasy feeling in their chest unravel completely. 

They were home. 

After the initial surprise hug Lulu received, she told them how they managed to fend off the children of Hargon monsters after they had left. Apparently the residents had waited around the clock in shifts for the two friends to return, which made Robin smile happily. That they would come back during Lulu's shift is really a blessing, it's just the face they wanted to see first.

Once Robin told Lulu how they got stuck on a prison island the girl frowned in worry at the two of them.

“A prison island?! Sounds like me that you were lucky to make it out alive.”

Malroth laughed happily and stepped forward to lightly knock his knuckles against Robin's head with a teasing glint in his eyes. 

“Tell me about it! And to make matters worse, Robin cried themselves to sleep every night. You just can’t take them anywhere!”

Robin sputtered and said if it was anyone who cried it was Malroth while aiming a glare at their male friend. The other two only laughed at Robin's disgruntled expression and Lulu clapped her hands together to get their attention. 

“Well, whatever the true story of your valiant escape, it sounds like you had a first-rate adventure! I was wondering-how about we have a little tea party? Just the three of us!”

Robin immediately agreed and they followed Lulu to whichever spot she had planned for their tea party. It was by the first house Robin built, where the three of them met on that fateful day so long ago. Lulu wanted a party to celebrate their safe return so Robin was quick to design a blueprint where they could have a cozy party for three people and including the requests their two friends had. 

As they were building they heard Lulu and Malroth talk about the mans missing memory to which he didn’t answer but rather asked what was up with Lulu. 

“Oh it’s nothing, really. It’s just, you’ve seemed so distant recently… Are you sleeping alright? No unusual dreams or anything?”

Robin looked over and saw how Malroth flinched at her very specific question, and they frowned slightly in worry for their friend. It was as Lulu said, ever since they came back from Khrumbul-dun, those ruins in the lava specifically, Malroth had been a little more distant and brushed off any worry for him. 

“Hey! How do you know about that?”

“Tee hee! I know you two better than you know yourselves! After all, we’re the best of friends now, and we’ll be together forever!”

Robin smiled at Lulus enthusiasm and approached the two of them, they smiled towards Lulu and nodded in agreement; what she said is something Robin wished for as well.

“Together… forever?”

The builder looked towards Malroth and they could feel a phantom pain pierce their heart at the uncertainty in his expression and the hesitance to his question. So Robin walked up to Malroth and pulled him in for a side hug with a wide smile on their face. Lulu let out a soft laugh and walked forward to gently take hold of his hand to show her own support.  


“What? We are going to be together forever, aren’t we? Oh, what am I saying-of course we are! But I think that’s enough chatter for now. This party will never begin if we carry on hobnobbing like this!”

Robin took that cue as they should continue to build and gently squeezed Malroths shoulder before they let him go. Malroth himself had a million different thoughts swirling around his head at once and he was unsure which trail of thought he should focus on. But to stay together forever, Malroth would’ve liked that as well. But would that really be possible with everything that was slowly unveiling before his eyes?

Once the party platform was finished, Robin went back to Lulu and Malroth with a wide grin on their face and gesture towards their finished plattform. Lulu praised them for Robins hard work and was ready to start the party.

“I get that you’re happy to have us back and everything, but why do we have to have a party?”

Malroth asked while he put his hands on his hips, looking over the party platform with a small, pleased smile. Lulu shrugged and clasped her hands together in front of her heart with a small smile on her face.

“Because I’m jealous… Rosie told me about the harvest festival you held on Furrowfield, and Babs spoke very highly of the Khrumbul-dun dance party… But if the three of us can have a low-key gathering of our very own, I won’t feel left out anymore!”

Malroth laughed at Lulu's reasoning and shook his head, while Robin stepped forward to place a hand on Lulu's shoulder with an even wider smile.

“Ha! That’s a rubbish reason! I’ve never heard of anything so stupid in my life!”

When Lulu glared angrily towards Malroth, the man shrugged and lifted up his hands as a form of surrender for the girl’s stubbornness. Robin could only smile fondly at their exchange.  


“But alright, I’ll go along with it. After all, me and Robin are always leaving you in the lurch. So what’s the plan for this party then? Sit on those stools and stare at each other?”

Robin took a step back when Lulu happily clapped her hands together once more and reminded the two of them of the surprise she said she had. Robin and Malroth both nodded and sat down when Lulu told them to wait. When she returned, Lulu placed a large cake on the table and looked quite pleased with herself. However the cake reeked like something died in it, and there was purple sludge all over it that was seeping out from the "glaze" of the cake, but Lulu certainly didn’t see anything wrong with it. Robin didn’t have the heart to tell her about hot disgusting it seemed either. 

“I’ve been planning this party since you two left. I even baked the cake the day after you went away!”

Which means that this cake was about a week old… Malroth didn’t hold back his disgusted reaction like Robin did and tried to wave the stench away from his face.

“Ugh! What did you put in it? It reeks to high heaven!”

“It does not! That’s the aroma of fresh scallywinkle, I’ll have you know!”

Robin blanched when they heard that, looked at the now very murderous looking cake and listened with a half ear as Lulu defended her creation.

“I mixed the meat into the cake batter with some slime oil, stirred in some mashed crabid eyeballs, and sprinkled some soil in for good luck. I call it the ‘Scrummy Scally Sponge Surprise’. Robin, would you like the honour of taking the first bite?”

The builder flinched and looked towards Lulu with their eyes wide in panic, that cake would definitely kill them if they tried to eat it. All of the things Lulu put into it was a safety hazard, how could anyone have even let her make this kind of monstrosity? When Robin quietly shook their head, Lulu leveled them with a glare and tilted her head as if in confusion.

“I beg your pardon? The crashing of the waves drowned out the sound of your voice. I’ll ask you again: would you do me the honor of taking the first bite of the Scrummy Scally Sponge Surprise?”

Now that Robin knew they possibly couldn’t get out of this situation, they hesitantly nodded their head while sharing a frightened glance with Malroth. He didn’t seem very excited to try this food either, at least Robin wasn’t alone in this. 

“Of course you would! How could you say no? I slaved away for hours over a hot bonfire to bake it. Eat up now! You must be absolutely starving after being locked away for so long in that horrible prison!”

Robin hesitantly nodded and picked up the fork that laid in front of them. Together with Malroth, they took the first bite of the lethal cake and feared the worst. Robins mouth was filled with toxic fumes from the first bite and when they tried to stand up and flee to the toilet to get this toxic substance out of their system, Lulu fixed a hard glare onto Robins face, which made them sit down once more. They struggled to swallow the bite and aimed a shaky and uneasy smile in Lulus direction while they slowly brought another piece of cake into their mouth, silent tears streamed down their cheeks in horror due to the taste. They couldn’t escape!

“Heh heh. This is actually pretty tasty!”

Robin looked at Malroth with eyes wide in shock, how could he have said something like that?! Malroth was confused! Robin and Malroth were forced to eat the cake to the very last bite and Robin could already feel their insides tearing up due to the toxic substance they consumed. Robin had never eaten something so horrible in their whole life, but how could Malroth look so pleased when he smiled at Robin. 

“I was a bit worried that this party would be the pits, but it’s not nearly as tedious as I imagined!”

Robin gave him a hesitant nod in return and a weak grin while they held onto their protesting stomach. This did not turn out like Robin had hoped...  


“I knew you’d enjoy yourself-we have the cake to thank for that! Such a shame I never got to taste the thing myself…”

Robin mentally screamed that Lulu had every opportunity to taste her monstrosity but she simply chose not to, and now Robin had to suffer on their own because Malroth looked completely fine after this ordeal. 

“Oh, that reminds me! For my next signature dish, I was thinking of rustling up a maulusc mousse with army any coulis! But Bonanzo does insist on taste-testing all my creations first, so you shall have to wait a little while longer to enjoy that one.”

Robin prayed to whatever god that existed that Bonanzo would never approve of any dish Lulu made with monster parts. Because after this Robin would never want to taste Lulu's creations ever again but they simply didn’t have the heart to refuse their friends request. So if one ever got approved they would surely die from food poisoning like they were now. 

Robin focused back on their two friends and managed to ignore their stomach when Lulu asked if Malroth wanted more cake. But the male had a very serious expression on his face as he shook his head, much to Robins relief. They wouldn't be able to handle another one of those horrible cakes.

“No, I was just thinking… How much longer is this going to last? All of us together like this…”

“Why, forever, of course… I said it before, remember? Why do you ask?”

Robin was also curious about this and gazed at Malroth with their brows furrowed in thought; why did he ask that indeed? Did it have something to do with the dream he had in prison? The builder twitched when Malroth directed his gaze towards them, the man extremely serious as he reached forward to grab onto their arm.

“Robin… If something bad happens to me, like.. I stop being myself, would you… Would you hit me? I mean hard-like wake-up-and-come-to-your-senses hard. Can you do that for me?”

Robin was unsure how they should take this kind of request, but when they looked into Malroths red eyes and saw how worried and scared he was, scared over something that Robin had yet to understand or see, they couldn’t bring themselves to refuse. Malroth knew something Robin didn’t and while Robin wanted to help they had time and again told Malroth that they’d be there for him if he’d let them. But he had never said anything, which had made Robin unsure how to approach that conversation. And now Malroth was scared that he would lose himself for one reason or another and begged Robin to help if that ever happened. So Robin nodded and placed a hand over Malroth and said that they promised to do that. 

Despite the worry gnawing in their chest, the relief that spread over Malroths face was well worth it. They had made a promise that they wouldn’t break, and that was enough for now.

“Malroth? What in the world has got into you?”

Lulu asked in worry but before the man could answer in any way he got interrupted by Bonanzo's loud and happy laugh further down the beach. As the trio of friends looked over they could see everyone who lived on the island stand there with wide smiles on their faces.

“Are you throwing a party without us? You could have at least informed us that you’d made a safe return!”

The rest of the islanders joined in on their party after that as well as the hairy hermit himself. All through the night, all of their friends celebrated Malroth's and Robin's safe return. When another one of Lulu's cake emerged, people were similarly horrified like Robin was and at the first opportunity they got, Robin wobbled away to empty their stomach from Lulu's poisonous cooking. As the party rumbled on into the early hours, Robin felt at peace with the sense of togetherness that enveloped the group. Robin and Malroth had a lot of fun with a lot of laughs and smiles, but when Malroth thought no one was looking Robin could notice the solemn shine to his eyes as his thoughts were worlds away from the party. They knew their friend was troubled over something, they knew yet they had no idea how to approach the issue. So they enjoyed the party instead so all of them could get to work the very next morning. 

As Robin woke up, Malroth told them that the villagers finished their pyramid blueprint while the two were gone and they made their way towards the scarlet sands to see it. 

Robin was delighted to see their creation and the faint nausea from Lulu's cooking faded at the thought of continuing with their construction. With the third part of the pyramid structure laid out, Robin themselves focused on the oasis and made more greenery around the water. They also built an item shop for their resort place and upon Dougie's request they built a railway that everyone could ride through. Once the pyramid was done the two miners Dougie and Digby had each a vision for how the top should be, to which they chose Dougie's version as it was more symmetrical than the other. 

Since the two tablet targets were done, everyone gathered around the tablet to see what would happen. And once again, the energy emitting from the tablet entered Robin when they touched it and filled them with building energy. Once again Robin got praise for their growth from everyone, however when Malroth suddenly cut off his own sentence and grabbed onto his head, everyone got worried for him. 

The voice spoke to Malroth once more and asked if he was ok, Malroth told it to leave them alone; and even though Robin wanted to approach and help their friend they had no idea what they would even do. So they could only stare in worry as Malroth struggled with something that none of them could understand.

And at the end of his struggling, that orange aura enveloped Malroth and seemed even stronger than before. But their friend looked exhausted afterwards and the voice spoke how he would be the salvation to this world, and how he was a god. Once Robin felt like they were able to approach, they helped Malroth up to his feet by his arm and gave him a concerned frown.

“Are you alright, Malroth? Is something the matter?”

Malroth waved away Lulu's worry and pulled his arm away from Robins grip, as he was determined to stand on his own despite how exhausted he felt. 

“It’s nothing… I’m fine.”

“Ya look more than fine to me. Ya know when ya nearly set yerself on fire before? Well, I fink I saw yer muscles bulgin’ a bit bigger!”

Digby said as he flexed towards Malroth, which earned him a tired smile from the black haired man. The rest continued to overlook how Malroth was struggling with something moments prior and simply praised the newfound strength he had gotten, but Robin continued to gaze at their friend with a worried frown. There was something different about him, something he struggled with, but Robin couldn’t figure out what that could be. 

So when Robin and Malroth went towards the boat so they could sail to another island in search of a merchant, they quietly asked if they could help Malroth with anything. This made their friend sigh and he aimed a small smile towards Robin in return.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll pass soon. We should just focus on making my Empire even better than it is now, this… thing will pass.”

Robin stopped Malroth by his arm and frowned harder at their friends refusal and shook their head, Robin would not give up so easily. Malroth let out a frustrated grunt and pulled his arm away from them, faced Robin and crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance.

“What, you don’t believe me? Where’s that trust you had at Skelkatraz, huh?”

Robin shook their head once more, thinking of how they should put it into words as they clenched their fists. They were never good with words, which is why they don't speak that often.

“I trust you… I’ll always trust you. You should also put your trust in  _ me _ , friendship is a two way street. And I want to  _ help _ you.”

Malroths eyes widened when Robin said this and he had to look away from them in thought. Malroth trusted the builder with his life, they had gone through everything together so how couldn’t he? But would him withholding information that even he didn’t understand betray that trust? He didn’t fully understand the situation yet, only bits and pieces, so he didn’t want to bother Robin with an explanation that was half-assed.

“I’ll-... I’ll think about it…”

Robin was a bit saddened that Malroth didn’t want to open up quite yet but they accepted his decision. So they nodded and gently squeezed Malroths shoulder with a small smile, as a reminder that they were here. Malroth looked at them and gave a smile of his own and the two left the conversation at that and left for the next island in search for a merchant. 

With the checklist done on iridescent island, with a few close calls with the lava there, and the checklist done for sunshine island the two of them were ready to tackle the next island where they would try and recruit soldiers to help them protect their island. The island of Moonbrooke, an island with a never-ending war. 


	8. Moonbrooke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They travel to moonbrooke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the game! Don't read if you haven't played and don't want to get spoiled! You've been warned!

_ We went to the war, not knowing it’s cause. _

_ But people were in need so we fought. _

After they base farewell to their friends they sailed for a few days to get to Moonbrooke. And when they arrived both Robin and Malroth reacted to the sudden cold weather and the man looked around curiously as they stepped off the boat. 

“So, this is the island the hairy hermit told us about-a forbidden place where no human dares set foot…”

Brownbeard hastily said that he would stay at the dock and take care of his boat but he seemed very nervous to be on this island like they were. 

“Got it Brownbeard. Say, Robin, what’s all this fluffy white stuff? The way the Hermit talked about this place, I thought the ground would be re-“

Malroth suddenly doubled over in pain and held onto his head, which made Robin worry and gently settled a hand on Malroths shoulder as he was struggling with something once again. The voice spoke how this island would be perfect for Malroth to realise his true potential and soon faded after this was said. Robin gently shook Malroth and called his name, relieved and worried when their friend seemed to ‘return’ but only to lean against Robin in exhaustion. 

“That voice again… who is it? What do they want?”

Robin was about to ask if they should rest a bit before they stepped onto the island but they were cut off by another voice who called out to them. 

“By Jove! What in the world do we have here, then?”

They saw a blue haired man run down the cliff with his sword at the ready and Robin hesitantly approached the human with a small smile on their face. They hoped this person would be nice and lead them to where other people were. 

“It’s not normal for humans to pay a visit to these parts. If you’re an ally of the monsters, I suggest you leave now, before I drive you out by force!”

Malroth stepped forward next to Robin and took out his own club in retaliation and Robin tried to still the tension between the two males without any success. After the blue haired male observed Robin for a few seconds he let out a curious hum in thought and slowly sheated his sword.

“Judging by your expression, it would seem you haven’t the slyness for that manner of subterfuge. Perhaps you’re not in league with the enemy after all. But then, what in the world brings you to a place like this?”

Robin explained that they were a builder and was looking for warriors to help them fight the Children of Hargon at their home. This surprised the blue haired male and soon after the shock he had a very thoughtful expression on his face when he looked Robin up and down. He started to talk about a legend, if Robin could be the builder from that legend which made the builder slightly confused. They didn’t remember any kind of legend regarding Moonbrooke and a builder. 

After a brief silence as the male thought he nodded and introduced himself as Warwick, a captain of the guard there on Moonbrooke. Soon after his own introduction Warwick asked the two of them to follow him, which gave Robin no time to introduce themself in return. They arrived at a broken up wall where three other people were present, one which later introduced himself as the king, another as Gerome and the third who was lying face down in the ground was Anessa. 

Apparently Robin would be someone they wished could end their conflict in some way but Robin themself got nervous, they could certainly try but these people shouldn’t have had so many expectations from them. Robin quickly crafted an antidote for the woman called Anessa to ward off the poison that was in her body and soon after, she was standing up.

Robin and Malroth helped the small group retake the throne room of Moonbrooke castle. But it was far from a castle, because just as Malroth said, it was only a structure made from old stones. Robin looked down at the ground with a worried frown to which Malroth gently knocked on their head and asked what was wrong. Robin confessed that they knew Moonbrooke was destroyed but was later rebuilt by the princess. 

This surprised both Malroth and Warwick, but it was Warwick who elaborated in his disbelief compared to Malroths simple ‘what?!’

“A princess? Hah! Wherever did you get that idea?”

Robin smiled uneasily at the two of them and rubbed the back of their neck deep in thought; they were certain that’s how it went in Moonbrooke. But then why has it now been reduced to ruin? And why didn’t they remember the princess? But Robin was soon brought out from their thoughts when battle ensued between them and some monsters once more, where the three humans came out victorious in the short battle. 

While Warwick seemed delighted, Malroth and Robin couldn’t share his joy considering the pile of rubble they conquered. Malroth said so with a soft sigh and the rest of the Moonbrooke people came and joined them soon after to congratulate them. 

These people were firm believers of Hargon and believed their destiny was to take part in a never ending war from orders by him. And apparently Robin was this ‘emissary of annihilation’ who would deliver them all, that they would build structures only for the children of Hargon to tear them down once again. With a small push from Warwick all of them realised that they were desperate enough in their war effort to ask a builder perform their ‘sinful acts’ so they might survive and escape their endless fate. Warwick also promised to come with them once the war ended so despite the nervousness they felt for partaking in a war, Robin agreed. 

So they rebuilt the throne room easily and soon after the throne room was fortified the monster launched an attack. Without Malroth's warning that they were coming Robin doubted that they would have sprung forth in retaliation as quickly. And once those were defeated Malroth got curious to see what kind of army the army had. So the two followed Warwick to a high perch that would overlook the monsters base and Robin paled slightly at the number of monsters there were on the opposite side. Not to mention the large troll leading them. 

“Satisfied Malroth? The fiends will stop at nothing to see us suffer, and this is only their advance guard. Anessa may have a point…”

Malroth, who seemed to enjoy being inside a warzone much more than Robin did, let out a groan and shook his head.

“Don’t get me started on that whingeing windbag. She can take her ‘heartfelt conviction’ and stick it where the sun don’t shine… What is a ‘conviction’, anyway?”

Robin was about to answer his question, but Malroth quickly said that they should return to the castle since the monsters looked ready to attack again, to which Warwick agreed. They moved all crafting stations into the throne room to keep robin safe while they were building and after that they worked on expanding the castles defences. They were thankful for Malroth and Warwick's presence as the two of them made sure Robin was safe while they worked outside the protective walls. 

They uncovered a potato patch for food, repaired the walls around the bell room to expand their fortification and rang the bell, which made more people join their cause. When Robin gathered wall materials they were nervous to leave the fighting to the soldiers and Malroth, since they wanted to help, but with Malroth there to lead the battle none got hurt. They greeted Zara and the people she had been protecting up until now and the group joined their base, Warwick and the king immediately became followers of Robins to show their support, which was highly appreciated. 

After that they were asked by the king to rebuild the castle and defeat the monster waves that would come and this made Malroth delighted. He was in his element, to beat up enemies where it had previously only been about building. But there continued to be talk about a traitor in their midst. Robin didn't want to think too much on this, since trust was important when you fought together, and focused on building instead. 

They build spike traps to damage the monsters as they rushed forward, built another room to secure the potato patch and along with that built a much stronger hammer and sword to use in gathering and in battle. However once the fortification was complete, Anessa told Robin to not trust Malroth. They were honestly offended by that notion. So they shook their head in disappointment and walked away from the uptight woman, Robin would always trust their friend and nothing a stranger says would make them think otherwise. 

They entered a routine the next few days. Wake up, gather materials with Warwick and Malroth, build a room, fight off monsters, barely get time to eat and go to sleep for the night. If it weren’t for Malroth keeping check on how often they are Robin was certain that they would have forgotten to eat completely due to the tense and stressed out atmosphere.

And now three days later they had built a war room, made better weapons for the soldiers, built a wall that covered a larger portion of the castle grounds, battled another wave of monsters and created magical barriers with the help of the king. They had barely even started with the reconstruction of the castle but their nerves were already running thin due to the tense atmosphere that surrounded the castle. 

When they were clearing out some rubble from the old castle ruins, so they could build a proper barracks for everyone, Robin suddenly found themselves grabbed by the scruff of their armour and thrown over a very familiar shoulder. They made a sound of confusion when they looked at the back of Malroth's head but he just turned towards Anessa and pointed with a thumb to the southern side of the castle.

“Hey, me and Robin are gonna go out that way. We won’t be gone for long.”

“Oh very well, I shall tell Warwick that-“

“Nah don’t bother telling him, I’m enough to guard them from the boneheads.”

Malroth cut her off and walked away with Robin over his shoulder, where the builder looked confused between Anessa and Malroth since they had no idea what was going on. Once they were out of the castle, Malroth walked up the slope the two of them and Warwick climbed when they first got here and didn’t put Robin down until they reached the very peak of the mountain that let them overlook the sea. They looked up at Malroth in confusion when Robin was forced to sit down in the snow and Malroth sat down beside them soon after. 

“There. Now the two of us will just sit here until dusk.”

This made Robin even more confused and they looked around, there was nothing here other than snow, trees and the sea in front of them. So they asked Malroth why he brought them here, since there was still so much stuff they had to do. The question made their friend frown and he gently knocked against Robins head with his knuckles.

“Why? Because you’ve been running around like a headless chicken for days now! You just finished making those barriers so you are  _ allowed _ to take a breather, Robin. And if you won’t let yourself take one then I’ll  _ make _ you take a break. We learned from Khrumbul-Dun that it was important with breaks didn’t we? So just enjoy the scenery!”

This made a wide, warm smile spread on their face and they let themselves take in the scenery in front of them. Malroth was right, they had been working a bit too hard since people’s lives were on the line. But it would all be useless if Robin collapsed from working too hard. So trusting their friends words, Robin took a deep breath and let their body relax, they watched the sea and snowfall as their best friend sat beside them. They had never thought of just how beautiful the snow here was until they now were allowed to take a break, the slow descent of the frozen water made the landscape look hazy in a very tranquil way. 

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Robin turned towards Malroth with a small smile and asked if he had ever played with snow before. 

“Snow? It’s that what this stuff is called? Well no, it’s the first time I’ve seen it when we got here.”

So with a wide grin, Robin pulled Malroth up to his feet and guided their friend towards a larger snowpatch and proceeded to give instructions on how they could make a snow angel. Malroth was absolutely delighted when he could see his bodyprint in the snow and even shook Robins shoulder excitedly and pointed to his ‘creation’, he seemed extremely proud of himself to have made something successfully. Even if he didn’t really build anything, but Robin would never ruin the happy moment and congratulated their friend. 

Robin then went through on how you could knead the snow into snowballs and use these snowballs in various ways. The first few times Malroth tried to make a snowball he used too much pressure and the snow was crushed under his hands rather than get formed into balls. So Robin used a different approach and held out a fist towards Malroth and asked him to pretend that he will form a snowball using their fist.

“No way, you saw what happened to those snowballs. I don’t want to hurt you!”

But Robin continued to hold out their hand towards Malroth with an encouraging nod, they trusted him completely and if this worked Malroth could have a lot of fun with the snow. So Malroth hesitantly took hold of Robins hand and the builder guided him through the proper way to knead a snowball, and since it was Robins hand Malroth was extra careful to not squeeze too hard. So when he kneaded Robins hand correctly the first time he tried Robin couldn’t help but laugh at their friend.

“Huh? What is it?”

Robin shook their head and told Malroth that he was kneading their hand just how you needed to knead a snowball. This made Malroth pause and look at Robins fist curiously. 

“Really? Huh… so I gotta see the snow as something small and important??”

Robin nodded and pointedly ignored the unintentional compliment and pulled back their hand and gave Malroth snow once more. And when Malroth tried to mould the snow into a ball once more, he thought of the snow like his friends hand and only used gentle pressure to give it shape. What he created was an oval more than a ball but the man looked absolutely delighted that he managed to change the snows shape like he did. The man even hugged Robin he was so delighted and the builder laughed and congratulated Malroth on his first minor creation. Robin wasn’t sure if he could call one snowball as creating something, if stacking snowballs into an igloo or making a snowman was building then snowballs couldn’t count into that equation. 

So Malroth made snowballs while Robin stacked them into a slightly wobbly snowball tower and the two friends did this until dusk. And once dusk fell the two of them returned to the castle with their cheeks and noses red from the cold and happy smiles on their faces. Robin ate some grilled potato by the fire and they retreated to bed without speaking to anyone about where they had been. There was no reason for anyone else to know after all. However when Robin was trying to sleep their body was simply too cold to do so, the builder gently nudged Malroth who was sleeping next to them so he would stir awake.

“Hm..? Wha..?”

Robin asked if he could sleep next to Malroth to keep warm just like they did in the cell. The man only nodded quietly and scooted over in the bed so Robin would also have room. Malroth's duvet was blissfully warm thanks to Malroth's body heat so Robin had no trouble sleeping in his bed, back to back with their friend. 

Robin entered a different routine from that point onwards, where they spend a few days collecting, building and fighting while every so often Malroth would drag them away to do something different when they were about to lose their head due to stress. Now the castle had a cafeteria and more mouths to feed after they rang the builders bell. The wizard’s workbench got its own room to create a wizard's workshop and the great castle gates of Moonbrooke got built with the help of everyone present. While usually it was the villagers who gathered materials for a large structure on the previous islands, Robin enjoyed gathering the materials while the other built. It made them feel proud over the people of Moonbrooke who were previously so against building altogether. 

As Robin was looking over the finished gate, Malroth walked up beside them to watch the large structure as well. 

“Now that the gate-building’s done and dusted, let’s get out there and teach that mob of monsters a lesson!”

Robin blinked and looked at their friend with a confused tilt of their head, they weren’t certain that they knew what he meant. At Robins confused look, Malroth put his hands on his hips with a cocky smirk on his face.

“Oh, come on! Don’t tell me Captain Conviction’s convinced you to hide in the castle and wait for them to attack… How about we hurry things along a bit? Are you ready to fight if I go out there and pick one?”

Robin let out a thoughtful hum as they looked back towards the castle citizens, all of them talking with each other and smiling over their successful construction. Then they looked back to Malroth who was giving them a wide, confident yet hopeful smile. Robin knew their friend enjoyed fighting more than anything, that he adored the countless hordes of monsters that tried to attack them so he could smash them all into pieces. They knew this but a part of them was still surprised that Malroth wanted to pick a fight with the whole army without asking anyone else about it. 

No, he did ask for someone’s opinion on it. He asked for Robins opinion. They doubted that any argument they tried to make would make Malroth change his mind, so instead they’d make sure to be there for their friend no matter what he throws himself into. Because that’s what friends do, they supported each other through everything, and now Malroth needed Robin by his side when he went out to pick a fight with their enemy. Besides, the sooner it all starts, the sooner it would all end. While Robin didn’t mind fighting that much they would much rather get back home and get away from this war zone. 

So Robin let out a fond sigh and smiled at Malroth, soon after they nodded and held up a hand for a high five. They’d always be there for Malroth after all. The man chuckled and slapped his hand against theirs with an even wider grin.

“Great! I knew you’d see it my way! Your gate’s great and all, but building only takes you so far-sometimes you’ve got to start bashing instead!”

Anessa ran forward when she happened to hear Malroth talking and shouted at the two of them to stop and proceeded to scold Malroth for his rashness and how it would kill them all. This made Robin think back to something Anessa said much earlier...

_ “Malroth is a fine warrior, I warrant, but I fear his recklessness could get us all killed. I trust you will do all in your power to restrain his… darker impulses.” _

Malroth is far from a bad person and Robin trusted his skills, their buildings and the capability of the soldiers around them. Robin also believed that they were ready to take on the great force like Malroth was, at least they kept telling themselves this as they followed Malroth outside with Anessa screaming after the two to stop. 

Malroth and Robin stopped a bit away from the monster camp and when Robin asked if Malroth had a plan on what to do, the man only grinned cockily and told them to ‘watch and learn’. He wanted to rile up the troll leader so everyone else in its troop would follow suit. 

What happened next was that Malroth screamed insults at the troll leader to make him angry and despite themselves, Robin let out small sounds of laughter at how angry the troll got. The two friends then ran away from the angry monster mob and let the laughter drag on as they ran. Once they were inside the castle walls once more, Malroth shared a gleeful high five with Robin.

“Did you see the look on that troll’s face? Well, we’ll all get to take a closer look soon enough!”

Robin nodded with another snicker and they started to share Malroth’s excitement about the upcoming fight, the man simply has a way to make any situation positive. Warwick quickly ran up to the two of them and seemed very worried about the two. Soon after he asked where they had been did the ground shake from the force of the large troll’s stomps that approached the castle. 

“Good heavens! What in the world is going on?!”

“Heh, looks like out guest have finally arrived!”

Malroth said with a wide grin. He glanced towards Robin as he took out his new axe from his back and nodded towards them, to which Robin nodded in return with their face set in a determined smile. They’d beat these monsters no problem. 

_ And fought. _

_ And fought… _

After the troll was defeated without any major issues, Malroth still got a scolding from Anessa for his actions. They made a symbol of hope for the people, a beacon of Erdrik that warmed the castle and its people. But soon after it was placed down, a new threat became known to the people of Moonbrooke, the three generals of three different monster armies of Hargon. 

When Robin and Malroth ran to help someone in need they were confronted by the three generals of the Hair force, Air Force and the Scare force who had all apparently destroyed Moonahan. The explosive magic they unleashed was truly powerful and they could do nothing but stare as the monsters left as fast as they came. 

Malroth was once again in pain after he announced his displeasure on not fighting them and Robin was quick to approach their friend as the voice spoke in his head. The voice spoke how the time of creation has passed and destruction should take its place, said how Robin also knew this. Malroth looked up at his friend through the pain and soon after Malroth was asked to take the voices power did he stand up with a slightly glazed look to his eyes.

“I… I’m fine. We should be more worried about this ‘Moonhan’ place! Tell me where it is!”

Malroth glared towards Warwick when he demanded answers and the man hesitantly answered that the city was to the north-east of here. No sooner than that did Malroth grab hold of Robins shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze in reassurance, they could tell that he was worried for the people there but something was different about him. And that made them worry…

“Alright. You stay here, Robin-I’m going to go and teach those monsters a lesson!”

Malroth then quickly ran off in the direction of Moonhan and three soldiers who viewed their friend in a high regard were quick to follow him. Anessa screamed at them to stop and Robin was frozen for a few moments as they stared at where Malroth had disappeared from view. Something was different, what was it? Was it because Malroth reminded Robin of the promise they made? They could hear the king rushing forward to join them but they were too absorbed in their own thoughts to truly notice. Malroth told Robin to stay put, but how could they when he threw himself headfirst into danger like that?

So Robin turned towards the group and loudly announced that they were going after Malroth and that the rest should keep Moonbrooke safe. Anessa and Warwick were quick to protest and said that they would accompany Robin as well, that Robin would not be able to handle it out there on their own. They agreed, and the three of them quickly rushed to Malroth's and the three soldier's aid.  


When they arrived at their destination it was only Malroth left as he fought the monsters in front of him, the three soldiers who came with him were all lying on the ground face down. Robin was quick to rush forward and block a sword strike aimed at Malroth’s back, which quickly gained their friends attention. 

“Robin?! What are you doing here? I told you to wait back at the castle!”

They ignored him for now and instead focused on defeating the group of hostile monsters in front of them. Once all of them had disappeared, Robin let themselves breathe out a sigh of relief and sheathed their weapon. Malroth was safe… but the same couldn’t be said about the soldiers who accompanied him. Malroth once again got this slightly glazed look to his eyes when he tried to defend himself and what he said chilled Robins heart to the core.

“These soldiers came here of their own free will. They came to fight, and they died fighting. If only their efforts were not so feeble, perhaps they would have survived. It was their pathetic weakness that doomed them.”

Robin stalked forward towards Malroth with determined strides as Anessa was screaming at him in anger, raised a hand and slapped their friend in the face. There was a stunned silence for a few seconds and when Malroth looked at them with a shocked expression, Robin simply asked if he was back. This question made Malroth twitch and the slightly glazed look to his eyes disappeared when he gave the builder a quiet nod. They didn’t have time to address the issue further as more monsters came to try and kill them and they had to enter battle once again. 

At the end they were outnumbered and were at the brink of defeat, Robin was holding up Warwick by his arm around their neck as he was too tired to stand up on his own. Their rescue came in the form of a slime as it told the commander that reinforcements were on the way there and the monsters should retreat. And they did. 

“Phew, that was a clooze one. Don’t worry, you’re safe for now. I’ll see you next slime!”

The slime said before they too jumped away. As the battle was over, Robin set Warwick down on the ground and took out a medical herb so they could treat his side. And while they did this Malroth started to speak hesitantly. 

“Robin… I…”

“Malroth, explain yourself! Three good soldiers have died on your account! They may not share your martial prowess, but you… You-!”

Robin let out a quiet tired sigh as she finished dressing Warwicks wound and gently patted his shoulder. The man in front of them joined the conversation while he looked towards the three dead bodies of his comrades.

“What does it matter who is to blame? They were my friends… Are they truly gone, never to return? Why, Goddess?! WHY?!!”

Robin flinched at his sudden scream and stood up to stand next to Malroth. They could see how their friends fists were clenched by his sides so Robin settled a gentle hand on his shoulder. Anessa, ever analytical, told Warwick to basically suck it up and that they were forever dead. Soon after, a sound came from the chapel that they all went to investigate. All except Malroth that is, as he stood outside and looked at the dead bodies with an unreadable look on his face. 

A nun named Esther had hidden herself in a coffin from Malroths request and as she saw the dead bodies she asked Robin to build a graveyard for the three of them so they could ‘rest peacefully’. As Robin was about to carry over the bodies to their coffins, they asked Malroth if he could help them. But he only shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest while he watched, but from Robins point of view it looked more like he was hugging himself than being irritated. 

Once the graves were done, all of them said a silent prayer to their lost souls so they could rest in peace. Anessa got worried that all the monsters would now focus on Moonbrooke.

“Come, everyone. If you’re finished with all this sentimental nonsense, let us return to the castle.”

Malroth was speaking like that again, that foreign way that they were not used to. Anessa asked what he meant by ‘sentimental nonsense’ as Robin walked towards their friend. 

“What purpose do these monuments serve you, or me, or any other being still breathing? There is no sense behind them. They are nonsen-“

Robin once again gave him a good slap to the cheek, to which Malroth stumbled and shook his head slightly before looking at Robin with that same shocked expression as before. Robin reached forward to cup both of Malroths cheeks so he wouldn’t look away and once again, quietly asked if he was back. The glazed eyed look once again disappeared when they asked this and he nodded, reached up to gently cover one of Robins gloves hands with his own.

“I… I am… I… I’m sorry…. I don’t know what I’m saying. Ignore me. I’m sorry, Robin. I don’t know what came over me. But… we should hurry back to the castle.”

Glad to see their friends act like himself once more, Robin nodded and let go of his face, looking towards Anessa, Warwick and Esther with a calm smile. So the group returned to the castle, greeted Esther to their ranks and went to bed after a very eventful day. As the two friends lay in their room side by side, Malroth started to speak quietly in the darkness of the night.

“Robin… thanks, for the slaps I mean. It’s-... I-... I don’t know what-... I’m feeling much better but I-.”

He continued to cut himself off and ended with a sigh, but Robin was patiently waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, Robin reached over between their beds and gently settled a hand on his shoulder with a warm, wide smile. They told him that they noticed what he was going through and that they’d always support him. Because it’s what friends do. Malroth let out a quiet laugh and looked towards his friend, his red eyes almost glowing in the dark as he gave them a soft smile.

“Thanks Robin… it feels good to have you by my side. But I’m a bit worried, honestly, I don’t want to end up hurting you…”

Robin told him that they were made of sturdy stuff, they wouldn’t be hurt that easily. And if something were to happen they’d just have to hit him in the head until he came back, because they made a promise and they’d keep it. And they’d always be there to knock some sense back into him.

“Yeah… yeah you’re right. I’m counting on that, Robin, you better not let me down.”

Robin nodded fiercely in the darkness, gave Malroth another reassuring squeeze before they focused on falling asleep. They had another long day ahead of them tomorrow.

The first enemy they wanted to defeat was the Hair force, so while the people of Moonbrooke built Robins blueprint of defence Robin, Malroth and Anessa went out in search for the Hair force warship where they could learn the monsters weakness. 

Malroth was eager to smash stuff up and be violent so it was with great effort that Anessa and Robin managed to convince him that discretion was the key to their goal. So they sailed in through a hole on the back of the ship and met Anessas spy, Jeremiah, who had involved himself in the monster ranks as a slime. They got a rod mod so Robin could change themselves and their party into different monsters to avoid suspicion. 

Despite Malroth very violently eager outbursts they managed to free a bard from his cell and find out that fire was the weakness to the Hair force as it would set fire to their fur. Their friend was almost uncharacteristically violent and it worried Robin slightly. But as long as they could keep an eye on him it would be fine. 

So they made some sizz snares and pressure plates and set them out on their blueprint. With two watchfires placed out on the battlefield it was time to face the Hair force. 

With the help of their traps, the monsters were weakened when faced with the people’s swords so they had no problem in taking all of them down, however the leader of the Hair force was especially hard. Even Malroth got seriously hurt because their ice magic slowed him down. So once everything was done, with the Air Force too who swooped in for a surprise attack, Robin forcefully sat their friend down at one of the medical stations they built earlier and started to treat his wounds. 

He had a huge gash in his shoulder when a beast's claw caught him unawares and Malroth had a solemn yet thoughtful look on his face.

“The Air Force are gonna be slippery… we need to find a way to bring them to the ground. But one down, two to go. Those flapping freaks aren’t going to know what hit them!”

Robin smiled and nodded to Malroth and finished bandaging his wound, they put some medical herbs on there as well, of course. Their friend is strong and fast but without armour he could get wounds easily. And they still had a burial to perform for the two soldiers they lost. 

“Robin? Can I borrow you for a second?”

The builder looked up and saw Warwick stand close by with a nervous smile on his face. Robin nodded to their new friend, patted Malroth one last time on the shoulder before they rose up from the chair and approached the blue haired male. Warwick led them towards the castle garden and had a small smile on his face.

“Are you alright? No wounds from the battle?”

They shook their head and explained how they mostly helped Esther treat people during the battle so they kept away from it. The man nodded and scratched the back of his neck with his smile growing in size.

“Good, good. I’m glad to hear that… Listen I- I’m really thankful for everything you’re doing for Moonbrooke. This isn’t your war to fight but you help us out anyway, you help us all survive to live another day. I don’t want to die… Goodness knows I don’t want to die, and I’m very glad that you’re here to help us. If there’s anything I can do, anything at all, you just have to tell me ok? And- be careful around Malroth.”

They were about to smile and thank him for his sincere words but their thanks fell out short when Warwick suddenly warned them of Robins best friend. So they shook their head firmly and crossed their arms over their chest and told Warwick that Malroth can always be trusted, that there was no need for them to be careful around him. 

“No no that’s not what I-. Look, he’s a very violent person and Robin, you’re- you’re really kind and gentle, he might hurt you on accident so that’s why I’m telling you to be careful. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t trust him, even if it would be best with the traitor in our midst, but just please, I care for your safety.”

Warwick wore a worried frown on his face when he said this and he reached over to gently grab hold on their shoulders. Hearing this made Robin relax once more, he was only worried for their safety. But he didn’t know Malroth like Robin did, no one did except for maybe Lulu, so Warwick had no idea that they’re most safe around Malroth as they could be. 

“Can you at least promise that you’ll stay out of danger as much as you can? You’re not only important to Moonbrooke so we could fight back in this war but you’re important to the people here too. So please, take care of yourself.”

Robin knew that they would never be able to convince Warwick that Malroth was harmless to them, so instead they nodded and said that they promised. Once they said that, Warwick let them go with a small smile and Robin bound off towards the dead bodies of the soldiers to give them a proper burial. They never noticed how Malroth stood behind the door and listened in to their interaction. 

The villagers took part in Anessas training to be more like Malroth and Warwick had a conversation with both Anessa and Robin how he desperately wanted to win this war so he wouldn’t die in vain, where the female told of the tale of what happened to warwicks family. 

Robin expanded the kitchen into a castle cafeteria and made an armoury for the soldiers to change their weapons. This talk about a spy in their midst was starting to annoy Robin and Malroth both so to put their mind on different thoughts, Robin rang the bell once more. Next up was to discover the Air force’s weakness so Malroth, Anessa and Robin set out once more in search for knowledge while the rest of the Moonbrooke citizens built on Robins next blueprint. 

Before they could depart, Warwick stopped them briefly and reminded Robin to be careful to which they only nodded and met up with Malroth so they could leave. Their friend had a thoughtful frown on his face but once he noticed Robins approach, he gave Robin a small smile and a nod. So the three of them set off towards the swamp where the Air Force had their camp, determined to figure out a weakness they could exploit. 

Using the mod rod they infiltrated the monster hideout and gathered something that seemed important to them, which were certain magical feathers. While they were searching for these they came upon something very peculiar, because as they entered the storage room the spell from the mod rod suddenly disappeared. 

The three of them looked surprised over their human forms and Anessa pointed out that the mirror inside the storage room was the source. It was Ra’s mirror that could see through any disguise. They had to defeat the gremlin who came in but after a quick fight they had both Ra’s mirror and these flurry feathers in their possession and left the monster campsite. 

Once they returned to the castle Esther came rushing towards them with tears in her eyes.

“Oh, Robin! Thank the goddess you’re here! Something terrible has happened…”

She quickly led the group to the southern wall of the castle where three soldiers lay face down, all of them dead. Robin clenched their fists together when they noticed the sword stab wounds in their backs, Esther solidified their suspicion that these wounds came from the swords that they had built, swords that they had given to the people of Moonbrooke. 

Robin took a deep breath and gently took hold of Malroths wrist, worried over what this might mean for themselves if these three were killed so easily. When the king spoke of Ra’s mirror, Robin was quick to announce that they just found it which made an icy pit grow in their stomach. But they didn’t know why… But as everyone lined up in front of the walls, Robin knew exactly why they got that feeling. Because Malroth was forced to stand at a heightened place with Anessa and Warwick.

“You’re seriously going to go through with this? What’s wrong with you people? Don’t any of you trust each other?”

Malroth said loudly to everyone present and Robin nervously clutched Ra’s mirror in their hands. They didn’t want to be the one to do this, they didn’t want to do this to anyone. 

“You seem strangely opposed to finding the spy, Malroth… Almost suspiciously so.”

Geremone said after Malroths protest, which earned him a glare. When Warwick said that everyone had to gaze into the mirror, including Malroth, the icy pit in their stomach only grew. 

“Come, Robin-use Ra’s mirror, and let our true forms be revealed. You may begin with us, your closest allies. … if that’s alright with you, Anessa?”

Robin looked around at everyone else first and seeing their stern expressions they knew they had no way to step out from this predicament. So they slowly stepped up towards their friends, starting with Warwick. They gave him an apologetic smile before Robin shined the mirror into his face. 

“I see… my own face. I suppose that means I’m not a monster. What a relief!”

They nodded towards Warwick and moved over towards Anessa to shine it into her face as well.

“It shows nothing but a reflection of myself. I think that should be enough to clear me of any suspicion.”

Robin nodded in return and looked towards Malroth. He was staring down into the ground, arms crossed and a frown set on his face. So Robin walked past Malroth and shone the mirror on the king. He also showed his own reflection. Once again they walked past Malroth towards Gerome and he too showed his own reflection, they made it very clear that they would not shine it on Malroth. But this didn’t sit well with Warwick.

“Robin, please! We have to clear Malroth from suspicion as well, you can’t avoid this.”

Robin turned around to glare at Warwick and firmly shake their head, only to continue down the line and shine it on Zera. Malroth started to smile at his friends determination while Warwick sighed tiredly as none in the front row showed any other reflection than their own. They were starting on the second row when Anessa said loudly so Robin could hear.

“If Malroth’s name is not cleared by Ra’s mirror then he will be considered an enemy of Moonbrooke, Robin.”

Robin had to stop when she said that and looked up towards their friend. He still had that angry expression on his face, one of stubbornness that they were so used to. But if Malroth would be considered an enemy then they’d never be able to help these people… so they hesitantly went up to Malroth and held out the mirror towards him, which made their friend look up at Robin with a shocked expression. 

“Robin, what are you-?”

They cut off Anessas protest by telling Malroth to shine the mirror on them. Malroth quickly shook his head and held up his hands.

“No way, I’m not doing that to you. That would mean we don’t trust each other and I don’t want that.”

Robin continued to hold out the mirror towards Malroth with a determined frown on their face, if they were forced to shine it on Malroth then they should be shined on as well. Malroth once again shook his head and looked away while crossing his arms. He was determined to not shine the mirror on his friend, he couldn’t do that to them, they were friends. So Robin let out a sigh and shined the mirror on themselves with a slightly sad frown. They didn’t pay much attention to their own reflection as they soon after turned the mirror around to shine it at Malroth. 

But he showed no reflection. 

And despite it all, Malroth was still angered that Robin shone the mirror on him. And they couldn’t say anything to argue for their cause, because their hand was forced. But someone as stubborn as Malroth wouldn’t have listened to their explanations. And after they had defeated the three skeletons who were in their midst and the mirror was handed over into Anessas care, the silence was tense between the two friends as they went to sleep that night. 

And a part of them could have sworn that Robin was glowing when they looked into the mirror. 

_ Until we couldn’t fight together anymore… _

Once the Air Force defence blueprint was finished, Malroth pulled Robin aside with a serious frown on his face. Led them further off from the people of Moonbrooke before he started to speak. Since their last interaction didn’t go that well, Robin was nervous.

“I-... I just want you to know that when you used that Mirror on me, it really hurt… But are we still friends?”

Robin didn’t hesitate when they agreed, nodded fiercely and set their mouth into a determined line. Of course Malroth was their friend, he’d always be their friend.

“Okay… cause all this talk about this traitor is making the others go insane. Just-who doesn’t trust their friends? I get that there is someone who wants to do harm but there’s really no use worrying about it is there? We still have monsters to clobber up after all, these people should focus their worries on them.”

Robin smiled softly at Malroths frustration and reached over to gently settle a hand on his shoulder. Robin could see where he was coming from, they didn’t like it either, but they couldn’t change other people’s views. So they told this to Malroth, how the people of Moonbrooke had other priorities and that the people here were worried that they would be the next person who would be slain by the traitor. But Robin and Malroth has the luxury that they didn’t have to worry about that sort of thing.

“What makes you say that?”

Robin grinned and gently knocked their knuckles against Malroths rock hard chest. They said that Malroth was the strongest person around and Robin was a builder, whatever this traitor had planned they still needed the two of them. So they can just focus on clobbering up monsters and building up their defences. 

“Oh yeah you’re right about that… alright then I’ll stop being worried about it, it’ll all get revealed when it gets revealed! And I’ll clobber up those monsters into next week, you can count on that! Your traps are only there to slow them down, it’s still I who am the main force.”

Robin nodded and grinned at their friend, they’d stay as support like they did last time. While they enjoy fighting side by side with Malroth they weren’t confident enough in their skill to do so against a large horde of monsters. So the two shared a high five right before the Air Force struck against Moonbrooke. 

Once the Air Force was successfully struck down, they had little room to celebrate when the Scare Force’s army came knocking at their door. And as suggestion from the king they all went to sleep the day after. As Robin and Malroth lay alone in their room Robin uttered a quiet apology for the mirror once more. But they didn’t get a reply as Malroth only turned in his bed with his back facing them. 

They really hope they could mend this rift between them soon.

The next morning Robin stood beside Anessa on top of the castle walls, overlooking the weapons they’ve built. Anessa wanted to speak with them in private as she said she had something important she wanted to discuss with them, so they waited and listened. 

“Robin… I have been thinking. From whence do our beliefs arise? They say the teachings of the Children of Hargon are absolute. But no knowledge one discovers is ever absolute… were they then not revealed to us, but imposed?”

Robin looked over to see the worried frown on Anessas face and their heart reached out to the confused woman. She who was so convinced that the children were right was now questioning her beliefs…

“For so long we of Moonbrooke believed it our sacred duty to fight forever more. But if this was not truly the will of the heavens, and merely a rule set by another, then I… I…”

“Hey. What are you two lovebirds nattering about?”

Robin quickly looked over to their right and was confused by his comment. They looked between Anessa and Malroth, in what way were the two of them lovebirds? Malroth just shook his head and looked away, walked towards the ladder so he could climb down.

“Ah forget it. Robin, Warwick wants to see you.”

Still slightly confused and saddened by Malroths ire, they bid farewell to Anessa and went down to see what Warwick wanted. 

Since the Scare Force was much larger Warwick asked them to ring the bell once more. So they did after they built a chapel for Esther to pray in, a throne room for the king and a firework cannon for when they eventually won the war.

Both Esther and Gerome spoke badly about their friend, said that he was too fierce and ferocious and that it scared the other soldiers on the battlefield. They knew that he fought violently but they also knew that he brought out his inner beast now because he was frustrated. He was frustrated with Robin's betrayal…

Even though they didn’t want to do it, Malroth was still angry over what they did. And it frustrated then with how angry he got over it all but he refused to talk with Robin about what _their_ thoughts were over that whole thing. But he was also right, that they had other things they should focus on first. It was no time to talk about emotions.

Now that they needed to search for a new weapon to fend off the Scare Force they would head out once more towards the monsters hideout to find out their weakness. This time, Warwick wanted to join in and Robin simply agreed, they saw nothing wrong with this after all, since Warwick was a great swordsman. 

Thanks to the advice of friendly hammerhoods the group transformed themselves into Powie Yowies to withstand the chill of the freezing fortress they wanted to enter and soon came upon the structure. Once they entered however they were surprised when the monsters had something in their possession that they shouldn’t have. 

Ra’s mirror. 

Once it shone upon the three of them their true forms were revealed and they had to react quickly when a fight ensued. The three of them managed to defeat the monsters and as Robin shared a high five with Malroth they started to wonder why the monsters had Ra’s mirror in the first place. 

“Hah hah! That wasn’t so hard. Why did we bother sneaking around in the first place? I suppose we did learn one thing, though-somehow, they’ve got Ra’s mirror. How the heck did they get their grubby monster mittens on that?”

Robin shrugged uneasily towards their friend and nodded to Warwick when he asked if Robin gave the mirror to Anessa. This made Warwick sigh and cross his arms with an uneasy frown. 

“Then my suspicions are true… though it pains me to say it… The spy in Moonbrooke castle-the human among us whose allegiances lie with the monsters-it must be Anessa.”

Robin and Malroth both flinched and said ‘what?!’ at his claim, and as a habit more than anything Robin grabbed hold of Malroth’s wrist for some kind of reassurance. 

“How else could the monsters have Ra’s mirror in their possession? She must have told them where she had hidden it, if she didn’t simply hand it over to them herself! I have had my doubts about Anessa for some time now. I volunteered to join on this mission in hope of finding proof of her subterfuge. But come, let us take whatever the troll was guarding and return to the castle as quickly as we can.”

Robin nodded uneasily and shared a look with Malroth, they were unsure about his claims that Anessa was the traitor but the proof was really ruling against her. Could it really be true? And by the look Malroth was giving them in return, he was also uncertain about this matter. Warwick pleaded that the two of them stay quiet for now, so that Warwick could formulate a plan to put Anessa in her place. 

So they grabbed the cold crystals and returned to the castle, Robin tried to put a smile on their face and stop thinking about the traitor in their midst. But it got harder and harder to do that, the stress of Moonbrooke was starting to get to them once more. But Robin did their best and powered through, made the last weapons they needed to complete their blueprint and got congratulated for it as usual. Malroth didn’t have time to pull Robin away for a proper conversation about what they had just learned as the scare force came knocking at their doorstep. But before they left Malroth said something that stuck with them.

“Oh, and Robin, before we go… Don’t take this the wrong way-all those gizmos you’ve invented really are incredible… But when it comes to actually clobbering these monsters, that’s my job. If you think these contraptions of yours can replace me, you’ve got another thing coming.”

He took out his club with a determined look on his face while Robin could only stare at him with wide, surprised eyes. When did he ever think Robin was replacing him?

“I’m sick of being treated like I’m worthless. It makes me want to smash stuff to smithereens! Lucky for you, that’s what I’m good at!”

Before they could go out to battle, Robin reached out and stopped him. They looked into his eyes and told him with as much conviction as they were able, that he was irreplaceable to Robin. These weapons were only there to help Malroth but that he has never been worthless for as long as Robin had known him. Malroth stares at Robin for a few seconds before he looked away and shook off Robins hand. 

“Let’s go and bash some baddies brains in.”

This fight was a lot harder to win than the previous ones but they managed to pull through somehow. Once the repairs were finished they thought they would finally have time to sit down and talk to Malroth, they desperately needed a break and talking to their friend was very much needed. However Warwick was quick to request that they built a prison cell by orders of the king. They said that they would handle it in the morning, as sun was already setting over the horizon, but they did draw out the blueprint beforehand. 

As the two friends laid in bed side by side Robin quietly asked how long he had felt that way.

“Felt like what?”

They elaborated that he felt worthless for some reason and Robin shifted so they could look over at their friend. Malroth was staring up at the roof with a small frown and stayed quiet for a long time. 

“I don’t know… it just- came…"

Robin repeated that Malroth was irreplaceable and they reached over to gently take hold of Malroth’s wrist to give it a reassuring squeeze. This made Malroth sigh softly and glance over towards the builder, eyes narrowed slightly.

“Are you just saying that or do you mean it…?”

They immediately replied that they meant it with a wide smile aimed at their friend. Malroth let out a tired sigh and pulled his arm away from their grip and turned around to show Robin his back.

“And despite that you still felt like you had to use the mirror… we could’ve left you know.”

They couldn’t say anything to argue against that, since it was true. The two of them could’ve just left if Malroth became an enemy of Moonbrooke. But then the regret of leaving these people behind would eat at Robins conscience for ages afterwards. So they went to sleep, wondering if it would be Anessa who would be locked up in that cell tomorrow after they finished it. Was she really the traitor? 

When Malroth heard the builders breathing even out as they fell asleep he clutched at the blankets of his bed in worry. The Hargon’s Heroes were dealt with so he should be happy, but he got a funny feeling that things were about to get much worse… he didn’t know why he felt that way and a part of him wanted to tell this to his friend, but another part still couldn’t believe that the builder shone that ‘traitor mirror’ in his face. Not to mention that his lack of reflection was still bothering him to some extent. 

But why did Robin have to use that mirror on him? What Warwick said to them earlier, did Robin actually believe Malroth was dangerous? He didn’t want to believe that, Robin said they’d always take Malroth’s side, so why did it feel like there was a rift between them after the incident with the mirror? Did Robin only say that they trusted him for appearance sake? He didn’t know how to answer any of these questions...

Once morning came Robin built the prison cell from Warwicks request. And once it was completed the man joined them and nodded at Robins handiwork. 

“Thank you, Robin. To tell the truth there have been… developments… The first occupant of your newly built cell has been decided.”

They looked towards Warwick with a worried frown, is that someone Anessa? But instead of answering their silent question, Warwick gave them a sad smile and apologised before he walked back upstairs. And when he came back down with a handful of soldiers in tow, Robin froze up when they saw that he was dragging  _ Malroth _ towards the newly built cell. Their friend noticed Robin and the betrayal and anger glowing in his eyes stung them deeply and when they tried to approach, one of the soldiers held them back.

“Hey! How could you do this to me?!”

Warwick was the one to reply as Robin just got out from the soldiers grip to approach the prison bars that held their friend captive. 

No no this was all wrong!

“Forgive me, Malroth. Anessa has convinced his majesty that you are too dangerous to walk free, and I cannot refuse a direct command from my king.”

Warwick only got a glare in return for his defence before Malroth turned towards Robin and grabbed onto the prison bars tightly. 

“Why, Robin? Why would you build a dungeon for them to throw me into? Just because they asked nicely?”

Robin quickly shook their head and tried to explain that they never thought Malroth was the one to be imprisoned but they cut themselves off when Malroth turned around to show them his back.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. I don’t even want to see your face. I thought… you said… I didn’t think you were like this.”

Robin wanted to stay, to explain to Malroth that they never wanted this, but Warwick carefully pulled them away from the prison bars. Robin never looked away from their friends back. 

“I’m sorry. This is all Anessa’s doing. She must be trying to turn us against each other and leave us too busy bickering to fight back against the monsters… I want to tell his majesty the truth, but it would be pointless-Anessa is his most trusted adviser. There is no way he would believe me over her.”

Robin turned their gaze towards him when he settled his hands on their shoulders and saw his calm and sincere smile. But it did nothing to ease the icy pit in their stomach. 

“But I shall not give up. I will find another way. I won’t rest until you are freed, Malroth, and the real culprit is safely behind bars.”

Anessa suddenly came down and wondered why all of them were down here and Robin looked towards a Malroth once again. He didn’t show his face, a tense posture to his shoulders to show his displeasure. Robin was about to grab their hammer and smash the prison into pieces when a huge rumble traveled through the ground and shook the whole facility. Warwick quickly grabbed Robins hand and dragged them out to see what was transpiring and their protest fell on deaf ears due to the urgency. 

In front of the castle there was a giant troll, easily the largest cyclops Robin had ever seen in their entire life. Robins knees started to shake when they saw the sheer size of that monster and even as the people of Moonbrooke called to arms Robin couldn’t move. 

Malroth wasn’t here. Their friend wasn’t here and they were supposed to fight that thing? That thing stood between Moonbrooke and freedom? The monsters were coming to attack, but Robin didn’t want to help this time. How could they want to help when they just imprisoned their friend?

So Robin ignored all attempts Warwick or Anessa made to try and talk to them, to try and make them stand up and fight. But they didn’t want to. 

When a club from a giant cyclops smashed through the castle wall, not that large leader cyclops thankfully, Robin looked up and saw the monster staring down at Robin with a wide grin. A sudden livid anger burst forth in Robins chest as they took out their mountain cleaver, and with ferocity they didn’t knew they had, Robin managed to slice up the cyclops knee and made it fall to its knees. Without hesitation they drove their sword deep into the monsters eye and the monster soon disappeared in a fume of smoke. 

Angry, terrified, worried, betrayed, Robin felt all these things as they ran headfirst into the battle and sliced apart as many monsters as they were able. They couldn’t keep up their smile, why should they when the people of Moonbrooke wouldn’t care either way? They only want them to build and now with their other half gone they didn’t know what they should do. 

What should they  _ do _ ?


End file.
